My time in FF9
by MoridinBelmont
Summary: Another story where some nerd gets pulled into a game.  But this time, he's no goody two-shoes.  And stuff gets wrecked.
1. Chapter 1

Let's start off by introducing myself. I'm Jeff Carraway, and I'm about 19 years old. I was that weird kid you always saw sitting by himself somewhere, reading or just staring off into space. I was constantly having to defend myself from bullies, so I wasn't the weak nerd most envision, but I wasn't a bodybuilding jock, either. Recently, I'd graduated from high school and was getting pressured to decide what I was gonna spend the rest of my life doing. The only problem with that being that I wasn't really good at anything. I had breezed through school by memorizing what I heard the teacher say then regurgitating it back onto whatever meaningless paper they assigned, but good memory will only take you so far, and being that I'm terrified of cars, I couldn't look for work outside of walking distance from my house. So after a few hours of having my mom subtly hint at a job and my dad outright screaming at me, I retreated to my room for my only escape from the boredom my life had become.

I had salvaged a few TVs off the side of the street and got them running again, mostly with a screwdriver, tape, and prayer, and plugged my PlayStations into them. I had my old PSX hooked to one on my dresser, my PS2 to the TV hidden in my closet, and my PS3 got the biggest one sitting by the door. I stood in the miraculous silence for a few seconds, calming down after my parents guilt trips, then started up my equipment and waited. In a minute I got a CD playing on my PSX, blasting 3 Doors Down, Boondock Saints playing muted in the open closet, and FF9 loading on the big screen. My dad had immediately forced me to start paying rent when I hit 18, and I had enough money to seriously piss him off with the light bill. Just as the opening cutscenes started to play on screen, I heard rainfall start outside. I cut the sound on my music for a second, then just turned it off, deciding to enjoy the calming din of the rain.

In most stories like this one, there's some kind of lightning flash, or strange occurrence that causes a blackout. Nothing like that happened this time. I just started up a new game and watched as the geniuses of Squaresoft set the scene. But there was something I wasn't prepared for, and that was how much clearer and lifelike the images were. There weren't the usual jagged edges or flat colors. I breezed past Zidane's briefing on the kidnapping, then I saw Vivi come shuffling down the street. In this new HD experience, a little boy with no face was much more fascinating and nuanced. Even though it was a sidelong view, you could see the boy's wonder at being in a big city like Alexandria. I watched for a second longer, wondering if something was wrong with me that I'd attribute emotions to a little digital sprite, when I heard a voice, "Hey guy, you alright?" I jumped, convinced somebody was robbing me in my own house, but stopped when I realized I was looking down the street of Alexandria!

I blinked at the guy who had spoken, some nameless NPC, then down at myself. I don't know why I expected to be still wearing my sweatpants and stretched out T shirt, but that wasn't the case. Now I was dressed rather comfortably in a pair of dark pants, a loose fitting dark green shirt, and sturdy leather boots. Sheathed behind me was a longsword, with the hilt on my left. "Sir?" I had completely forgotten about the guy who'd asked after me a second ago, and came to my senses, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just hit the alcahol a little too early." The middle aged looking man chuckled at that, then nodded, "Well, find a better place to collapse next time, alright?" I nodded and walked away, still marvelling at this fantastic event. I was actually in a Final Fantasy game! I had constantly read stories online about stuff like this, and it's true I'd wished something like that would happen to me, but I had wanted to be in one of the cooler games. I had always thought it'd be awesome to become a SeeD and flirt with Quistis, or to test my skills against Cloud and Vincent. But I wasn't about to complain, when I had this awesome chance.

I walked to the central area of Alexandria, taking in the scenery in a completely new way, when I spotted Vivi off to the side. He was breathing hard, most likely from playing jump rope with the kids, and was heading off to the side alley. Without making a concious decision, I followed the little black mage in and watched as the sign maker blamed the boy for making him miss his nail, before Vivi could apologize, I stepped forward, "Aw, shut up, you old fool. If anything, you missed because you stink at your job!" I could see the man seriously think about acting tough in front of the kid, but that changed when I rested my hand on the hilt of the sword hanging on my belt. Without another word, he hung the sign, then took off, as always leaving the ladder behind. "You should stand up for yourself more, kid. I can tell you got power, and he was obviously in the wrong." Vivi adjusted his hat nervously, "I know, but still..."

I shook my head and nudged his hat off center, "No buts. A mage is a serious powerhouse, and that kind of power has responsibilities attached. It's only fair that you get some respect, too." Vivi's glowing yellow eyes widened, "How did you know I was a mage?" I just pointed at his hat and said, "Dude." Just then, I saw the little rat face of Puck come around the corner and had an idea, "But hey," I said, "you wanted to see that play, right? What would you say if I told you I could get you in?" Vivi looked up at me, "You can do that? How?" I ran my hand through my shaggy brown hair, or tried to. Apparently, I had a bandana tied to my head. "I know a route that nobody's guarding, but to get there," I grabbed the ladder and hoisted it over my shoulder, "we're gonna need this. So how about it, you want in?" The boy just nodded and I smiled, "Then follow me." As I started to walk away, I heard him clear his throat, "My name's Vivi, mister. What's your's?" I wasn't particularly fond of Jeff, and I'd be the laughingstock of the group with folks like Zidane, and Dagger around, so I picked a name I used for myself in private, "I'm Vintistica Thiess, but call me Vin. And no mister, I'm hardly old enough to be your brother. Now come on, or they'll start without us." And with that, the two of us made our way down the alley, across the street, and into the bell tower, meeting up with the moogles along the way. At the top of the tower, I remembered and absently pulled the rope, forgetting that bells are really freaking loud from close up. While my head was still resonating from the concussion, I saw Vivi picking through the little box that held the little hippo kid's cards.

Once my brain stopped kicking my eyeballs, I tossed the ladder down and shuffled across, mumbling under my breath crazily. I turned and watched Vivi's hesitation at walking across, "Oh, I forgot he doesn't like heights." A little louder I asked, "Do you need some help?" This seemed to snap him out of it, and he quickly crossed the ladder to the rooftops. I led him to the first board, and when he tried to crawl across instead of walking, I snatched him up before he fell to the street below. Rather than go through this again, I threw the kid up on my shoulder, which were thankfully broad enough, and saw Puck once again appear from around a corner. "Looks like we have a shadow, Vivi." I said. Then he noticed the Burmecian prince, and his nice guy instincts kicked in, "Maybe he wants to see the play, too." I nodded, "Maybe. But if there are too many of us sneaking in, the guards might notice, so what do you want to do?" I saw little mage think about my question, before finally saying, "We should at least try to help him, right?" I smirked at him, hearing his request for validation of his choice, "I didn't realize you were a little hero, Vivi. All right, we'll take him with us." I set him down on the roof, "Now stay here. Since the boards are gone, he can't just walk across."

While we'd been talking, Puck had caught up and was listening from the other side of the gap. I motioned him back a little and jumped across to the other side. I knelt in front of the little rat-boy and said, "Hey, you trying to see the play? We know how to get in." Puck, being the arrogant little shit he is, nodded and said, "Yup, that's right." Now everyone, I've always been more interested in the anti-hero than the shining knight version. People who used powers and tactics similar to what they fought to destroy. So you can guess I have a cruel streak in me, and decided to show it to the brat prince, "Well, my buddy is willing to let you come along, but I'm not so sure. I may need some convincing." The boy, like any noble, immediately thought I meant money, and began digging in his pockets. "I don't want your money, Burmecian. I have another idea. You're gonna be my buddy Vivi's slave, and do anything he tells you to, okay? Even if he tells you to stand still while he throws fireballs at you, you'll do it, got it?"

The kid looked terrified even as he nodded, and without a word I tucked him under one arm and jumped back across. I just propped Vivi back up on my shoulder, and quickly jogged across the rooftops to the spot in the wall where we could enter the castle. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the black mage glancing toward Puck, and realized I hadn't introduced them, "Vivi, this here's Puck. Puck, the guy on my shoulder's Vivi, and I'm Vin. Nice to meet'cha." Puck's snout shot up when I said his name, and grinned at him conspiratorially. Before he could ask how I knew his name, we had made it to the peasant's area, and I set them down in the back, "I gotta go do something real quick, you guys stay and enjoy the show. Watch for a guy with a tail, I hear he's pretty good." And with that, I took off to set up the next part of my epic entrance to the Final Fantasy stage.

The castle was boring, no other way to put it. I was able to easily sneak past what little guards there were, and even managed to snag some food from the kitchens. Before too long, though, I heard the familiar rattle of ill-fitting armor. Ducking behind a nearby statue, I saw Adelburt Steiner, stern faced captain of the Pluto knights, come marching down the hall. Now, I really never cared for Steiner when I was just a player, and my opinion hadn't been changed when I saw him in person. He was obviously the personification of everything that could be wrong with a knight. His armor was rusted and loose, he was predictable, hardheaded, and so blinded by what he called his 'duty' that he would endanger those he sought to protect. But now wasn't the time for my childish anger, so I waited while the bumbling idiot rushed down the hall, and waited for him to yell, "Pluto knights, assemble!" before I openned the door to the queen's balcony. I managed to slip in without alerting Beatrix, the polar and professional opposite of Steiner, and decided to work the mysterious messenger bit.

I grabbed the (black) bandana from my head and tied it over my face. Then, stepping out from the shadows, I rasped, "Kuja will be the ruin of Alexandria, Brahne." Without hesitation, Beatrix whipped around, drawing her sword. But with a gesture from the mammoth queen, Save the Queen's blade stopped an inch from splitting my skull. As the ruler allowed the silence to sit, I wondered if it was the fact that I hadn't flinched from the sword, or that Brahne had ordered her to stop that unnerved Beatrix more. "I take it you aren't one of his, if you deliver such a message." Faking a relaxed posture, I made direct eye contact with the lady knight and placed my palm onto the blade of the sword. She seemed disgusted that I would touch her weapon, but didn't try to pull it free.

Along with my cruel streak, I have a rather whacked out personality and a dark sense of humor, so I found it funny to see her face when I drug my hand across the edge. As my blood fell in scarlet ribbons, I held her eyes and said, "A knight shouldn't draw their weapon without allowing it to taste blood. Now your sword knows me, Beatrix. And when we meet in battle, it will sing your soul to me." Being a nerd has made me crazy. But I could tell Brahne didn't like being ignored, so I turned, still exuding an insane calm, and said, "I find Alexandria to be more profitable if it's still here to exploit. Kuja will see you destroyed once you've served his purpose. I tell you this once, Brahne. Beware the hidden power of the jewels." This was of course complete horseshit, but it might buy me some time before the fugly queen began using Eidolons to trash kingdoms. And before they could say anything more, I turned and walked right out the door. Now I had to hurry, since I had missed Garnet's escape and the time for Zidane's chase was running out. I took off back toward the stands where Vivi was. I yanked my bandana back over my hair just as I reached them and some knights began chasing my little friend.

I took off toward them, and just managed to catch up when Vivi unleashed his fire spell, catching Garnet on fire. "Dang, and I was hoping to make this funny. Oh well, now comes the interesting parts." Of course Garnet tries to dissuade Steiner, who refuses to listen, and Vivi and Zidane step up to help her. I decided to get in on this and pushed Marcus out of the way, "Sorry dude, but I'm taking the stage." I whipped my blade from it's sheath and got my first good look at my weapon. It looked like someone had seriously screwed up the metal, because it was a smoky black with just the barest dingy grey along the edge. But I was sure I could make it work, because I didn't have a choice, and said, "Yo, Vivi! You alright, buddy?" He glanced over, grasping his staff tightly, "Yeah, I'm okay." I smiled, "Chill, bro. We got this, no problem! I'll watch out for you." I saw him relax and I made my way over to cover him as he cast his spells.

One of Steiner's subordinates thought to slash at me while I was walking, but it did him little good as I brought my blade up and slapped his weapon out of his hand. Without thinking, I raised the point to his neck and stared into his eyes, "It would be best if you left now." He took my advice and ran off, which gave me time to wonder where the hell I'd picked up skills like that. I knew it took a little more than muscle coordination to keep from chopping your own foot off, and here I was disarming knights, even if they were third-rate. But I didn't have time to worry too much, because the captain decided to take a swing at Vivi. I blocked his downward slash and slid my sword across his blade to ram my weapon into his chest plate. I pushed forward hard, and felt his armor begin to groan before giving way. The metal buckled sharply, pushing against his ribs. The unexpected contact caused him to jump back and inspect the damage, then lunge at me glaring daggers into my head.

I dodged a few strikes, and blocked a couple that would've went wide and hit Garnet or Vivi. The spellcasters were just watching now, as I dealt with Steiner and Zidane was toying with the other Pluto knight. Before long, I was riding a combat high and loving it. This was so much more interesting than my life had been just a few short hours ago. Before I knew it, my endorphin charged brain was spouting off, "Man, not only is your armor shoddy, but so is your swordsmanship. I mean really, these telephone slashes are completely obvious. You'll never protect anyone with crappy skills like this." Then, just to see if I could, I narrowly dodged another overhead swing and slammed the pommel of my sword into his helmet. The blow shoved the headpiece over his eyes, and he stumbled back while he righted his gear. I took this moment to spare a few words to the newly abducted princess.

"Princess Garnet til Alexandros, I presume." The girl looked at me and smiled, "Yes, that's me. Have we met?" I chuckled, "Hardly, but royalty is widely known to commoners. My name is Vintistika Thiess, Vin for short. And this little arcane master is my friend Vivi." He made a little bow and I pushed his hat over his eyes. Zidane had long since gotten bored with the other knight, and had thrown him off while the Prima Vista took off. I knew we'd have to deal with the crash soon, so I tried to stay calm and play nice. "And who is this agile young man, princess?" She gestured toward the thief and said, "This is Zidane, and he's taking me to Lindblum." Of course, he had to add his two cents, and said, "Yup, just kidnapped her myself." I laughed loudly, "I didn't realize Tantalus did kidnappings now. How in the world did Baku agree to this?"

"You know the old man?" Zidane asked. "I know a lot of people who don't know me, Zidane. I like to know things that might be useful. For instance," I pointed to the approaching fireball, "that is not a happy sight." The three of them were shocked to see the bomb come flying at the ship, and Steiner finally managed to get his dented helmet to sit right. Of course he was oblivious to the danger right behind him, but I hadn't come to expect intelligence from this group. "Listen gang, the buffoon means well, but he's just gonna get in the way of our trip if we leave him be. So let's just do what needs to be done and put him down for a nap." Garnet wasn't happy about the thought of attacking Steiner, but she nodded along with the rest of them as we prepared to jump the idiot knight. He attacked Zidane first, due to him being the closest, and managed to score a light cut on the monkey boy's chest. I saw Garnet start focusing on a healing spell, and I jumped in to push Steiner back. I snuck my blade into the gap between his gloves and shoulder guards and sliced pretty deep into his sword arm.

When the steel of my weapon slid into his skin, he jerked back instantly. But the weird thing was I felt oddly peppy, like I had just stopped to take a ten minute break. I quickly attributed it to my combat rush kicking in again and began closing for another clash. I threw some slow swings he could easily block then Zidane kicked him in the back. As he turned to deal with the new threat, I stung him on the neck and got that juiced feeling again. Then I got too curious and hung back to think while Zidane dealt with Steiner and Garnet tried to call attention to the bomb. I didn't particularly remember a sword like this in the games inventory, and I certainly didn't recall an ability that gave you some of the health you took from an enemy. That wasn't to say the ability wasn't there, it had been a while since I'd played FF9, and my memory wasn't always the sharpest it could be. I shoved my hand in my pocket while I thought, and felt a scrap of paper brush my fingers. I pulled it from my pocket and read it quickly, chuckling at Steiner's look of frustration at Zidane's monkey antics.

Name: Vintistika Thiess

Job: Demon Swordsman

Weapon: Cursed Swords

Lvl: 1

A poor boy from Treno, he happened across a vampiric sword and trained diligently, becoming formidable in the arts of the sword and dark magics. He can siphon life from others, and sacrifice his own health to summon the forces of hell.

This kinda looked like a halfass character datasheet. Not much to it, but it at least gave me a backstory and explained what the hell was going on with me. Hell, it even gave me the setup to be one of the anti-heroes I'm so fond of. But it was too early to get comfortable, because for some strange reason the bomb hadn't exploded yet. "Well," I wondered out loud, "this does give me a chance to try my abilities out. And your starting weapon always has at least one in it. So sacrifice my health," I reopenned the slice on my palm and focused, trying to will something to happen. Then, I felt energy just drain out of me, and the wind began to pick up everywhere. It began to pull and tug at flags and Garnet's hair, then ramped it up to a full blown typhoon. Steiner was lifted off the deck and thrown into a railing, the force knocking the breath from him. I saw Vivi and Garnet about to take off and I lurched to grab them.

Just as I laid my hands on them, though, it was like the wind didn't affect them at all. While the storm blew around us, even their clothes stopped fluttering. I took a second to marvel at that and check out my awesome power, when I noticed what seemed like ghosts of bodies flying in the winds. Then I knew, this was Alighieri hell power. "The winds of Lust." I said under my breath, delighted with my ability. Then, the wind died down and the bomb went off.

I awoke later in a tree.

Not the most comfortable landing spot in a crash, but preferrable to a cliff or the like. I quickly picked myself loose and dropped to the ground. And just like my luck usually runs, I hadn't taken three steps before I was accosted by some goblins. I dispatched them with little difficulty, though I didn't have any items, so I had to be careful, and made my way to the hollow tree that led back to the Prima Vista. I worked my way through the wreckage and grabbed some potions lying around the edges of the debris. Anything I didn't have to pay for was welcome. I saw Blank stepping outside the ship and figured I should ask around instead of acting like an all-seeing jackass. "Hey, Belts," I called, "everyone okay?" Blank saw me and nodded, "Yeah, as far as we can tell, except Zidane hasn't shown up yet. And the name's Blank, not Belts." I held out my hand and said, "Vin." He shook it and I asked, "You guys pick up a kid in a mage's hat?" He shook his head and said, "No, you're the first one to come walking out of that forest."

I immediately turned and walked away, suddenly serious for the first time since I'd been dragged into the game. If I didn't hurry up, that plant moster was gonna get to Vivi, and I would be there to save him, dammit. I went racing back through the trees and water, slicing through the foolish goblins that attacked me, and hoped that I got there in enough time. As I came up to a clearing, I could hear a woman's scream and crashed through the last of the brush to see Vivi backing away from the monster. "Sh-she's in trouble..." he said. I rubbed my sword arm and said, "Vivi, can you help me save her?" He was silent, and I didn't have time to spare, so I stepped up beside Steiner, who roared, "Release the princess at once!" I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, the monster's gonna listen to you! Kill it!" He drew his sword and I charged forward, cutting the incoming tentacle.

I heard a weird surging noise behind me and almost turned to see what it was, but when I did the beast smashed it's other tentacle into the side of my head. I went flying to the side, and in my dazed condition saw Zidane join the party just as Trance overtook him. And seeing a hot-pink monkey with daggers is about the funniest thing you've seen with a head injury. He quickly darted between the plant's attacks. Just as he reached the creature's trunk, he slapped his palm into it's weird bark-skin, and symbols appeared and exploded all over it. The Mist monster responded by lifting it's tentacles to Garnet's level, but before it could steal the princess's health, I leapt forward and cut clean through one appendage. The spring in my step this time was more noticeable, and I figured the amount of energy I get back is related to the severity of the wound I deal. I danced back so Zidane could release another Free Energy, and the monster whipped it's remaining arm into some overhead foliage and escaped.

Steiner, idiot that he is, began screaming, "Princess? PRINCESS!" So I knocked him in the helmet with the pommel of my sword, "Yeah, bring the whole forest down on us, why don't you?" "Where did they go?" Zidane asked. I sheathed my sword and strode to the edge of the clearing, letting the next part happen, "Took off to the nest, most likely." Vivi shuffled forward, "She's gone..." And now to be a dick, "Yeah, if only we'd have killed it before it escaped." Only Vivi, who saw me staring straight at him, caught the insult in my statement. "I was too scared to cast any spells..." He said, "That monster's probably gonna eat her..." Steiner looked like a stupid dog that someone randomly kicked, "How could I let this happen?" I stood and said, "Because you're weak, Vivi's a scared child, and I didn't pay attention. The only one who couldn't have done better was Zidane. But are you gonna sit around and sulk? Or save her?"

They all looked at me, then Zidane spoke up, "He's right, she's not dead yet. That monster was only a minion. He's probably gonna take her to his master." Steiner latched quickly onto that tendril of hope, "That means the princess might still be- Come! We must go find her at once!" Of course at that moment, another monster dropped down and nabbed Vivi. Though I've gotta hand it to the little squirt, his first instinct to fling magic at it was a good reflex to have. And with the kid pumping it full of fireballs, it was quick work for the rest of us to hack it into submission. "Whew, thanks." He said as he got free. Then the little bugger decided to up and spray folks with it's seeds. Zidane and I were far enough away to keep clear of it. Vivi and Steiner, not so much. I quickly grabbed the younger one, "Big heavy knight's yours, monkey boy." And took off for the ship.

I was sitting off to one side a few hours later when the two woke up, and saw Steiner shuffling like a zombie for the stairs. He mumbled his usual foolishness about going to save Garnet, then the nero brothers stuffed him into a closet. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. So I chilled, while Zidane talked to Baku, and the other two rested. I listened to Steiner's idiotic attempt to escape by screaming fire, then once enough time had passed, I ambled toward Vivi's room. I managed to time it so I arrived about the same time as Zidane. "Thank you for helping me." The boy said. "Ah, don't mention it." Was the thief's reply. "Yeah, you're our buddy." I piped in. "Besides," Zidane added, "it was your black magic that saved the day. You know, you've got some major power for such a little guy." I chuckled, "That's pretty much what I told him back in Alexandria." The little black mage was silent, and of course Zidane couldn't take that. "What's wrong?" He asked, "Are you peeved at me because I called you little?" Who says peeved anymore? But because I like being the cool one here, I added, "Probably. He's an awesome mage with unbelievable powers. He deserves respect."

Then Vivi whispered, "I'm sorry. When that monster caught her, I couldn't do anything." Zidane immediately said, "Hey, don't worry about the princess. I'll get her back. I promise." I knew what was gonna happen, but decided to play the reluctant hero, "There, he'll take care of it. So we can get out of here if you want to, Vivi." The boy nodded at Zidane, "Thank you, Mr. Zidane." That made our Terran invader uncomfortable, "Whoa, that's the first time anyone's called me 'Mr." Just call me Zidane, alright?" He nodded, "Okay,...Zidane." Then Zidane just quietly left the room. Once the door was closed, I turned to Vivi and said, "Well, what do you want to do now?" The boy looked up at me like he didn't understand, "What?"

"We can get out of here easily if that's what you want. Then we can go anywhere we decide and do whatever we wanna do. This world is open to everything." I had to play it so he wouldn't decide until Zidane came back, so when he stayed silent, I added, "Hey, no reason to decide now. We've got time, so rest up and think about it. I'm gonna go get some air." I left the room and made my way down to the hole in the hull so I could get some air. I heard the sounds of a fight coming from the bottom of the steps, but when I got down there, Baku was already socking Zidane in the gut. I leaned on a column until he caught his breath, then said, "So you quit, huh?" He nodded and looked up at me, "I wanted you and Vivi to help me rescue the princess. You in?" I shrugged and squinted, "I don't know, what has royalty ever done for me? In Treno, all the nobles do is talk about how expensive everything is, while good kids go hungry ten feet away from them."

Zidane obviously didn't know how to respond to that, so I just feigned indifference and said, "Well, it's not like I got much else to do. If Vivi says he's in, I'll go too." So the two of us left to talk to the other two. First stop was Steiner, since he's on the way, but I wasn't looking forward to the conversation. When we first walked in, Zidane goes to bust his chops over a little Garnet doll he had, and his response was a very loud, "Silence! A scoundrel like you could never understand! I'm just overwhelmed with concern for the princess! If only you rogues hadn't kidnapper her...This is all your fault!" I leaned against some junk and said, "Yeah Zidane, how dare you comply with the princess's wishes. Don't you know she's supposed to miserably spend the rest of her life in a gilded cage?" The knight was too shocked to speak, so I continued, "She's not allowed to be happy, she's a princess! That's what knights are for, is to keep the meek little lady tame while everyone around her decides her fate. That's why when she ordered Steiner to leave her be, he ignored her."

Ah, the fool knew enough to seem stricken by that remark. Well, at least he had some semblance of intelligence. Finally, the silence had stretched long enough and Zidane said, "Anyway, I'm gonna go look for her now. I'll let you come with me if you promise to be good. What do you say, Rusty?" And just like clockwork, his idiot pride jumps in, "RR...RUSTY! I am Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto, and I will never work with you conniving thieves!" I stood and turned toward the door, "I knew this was a waste of time. This fool would rather have his pride than see his lady safe. Never mind that the 'conniving thieves' were hired by Regent Cid. No, a captain of the laughingstock of Alexandria knows best." Oh, that stuck in his craw good. But even he had to admit I made a good point.

"Make no mistake." he said, "I'm only going with you to rescue the princess! I will deal with you personally when this is over!" I moved to open the door and heard over my shoulder Zidane say, "Whatever." I heard them continue the conversation, doubtless talking about recruiting Vivi, and I left to get a good spot in the small room. I scrambled up the ladder to sit on the bunk bed before Zidane and Steiner came in and crowded the place. I guess it was larger than my head made it out to be, but I like my personal space. "Well, Vivi," Zidane said, "we're ready to go look for the princess." But the boy didn't understand just what they were asking, "Really! That's great! Be careful, okay?"

"Actually, we want you to come with us, too."

"Huh! But I can't do anything."

"Hardly, Master Vivi. Your magic was highly effective against that monster. In all honesty, I hold your power in greater esteem than I do this scoundrel's." So even when he's asking a favor, Steiner takes the time to insult others. I knew I was gonna end up spending no small amount of time with this jerk, so maybe it was time to set him straight. "Do you ever stop acting like a child, or are you stuck on stupid?" The three of them turned to gawk at me one more time, and I glared at the laughable knight. "This 'scoundrel' as you so often put it was under orders from one of the most powerful men on the continent to safely see the princess to Lindblum. While it was your bumbling foolishness which caused us to crash in the Evil Forest. And even if that weren't the case, just where do you get off acting so rude all the time? I thought the knights were supposed to represent the best Alexandria had to offer. But if the best they can do is a moron who insults everyone he comes across, it's no wonder they rely so heavily on women."

Then I turned to Vivi while Steiner picked his jaw up off the floor, "Vivi, whatever you decide I'm going with you. Don't let them pressure you into doing this if you don't want to, just do what you think is right, okay?" I waited patiently while the kid thought out his decision, all the time knowing what he was going to pick. Cause deep down, I knew the little black mage had all kinds of heart. Eventually, he just looked up, adjusted his hat and said,"I'll...try my best."

"Thank you, Master Vivi." Steiner said. Zidane and I left the room, and just as Vivi was about to follow him, the knight called him aside to discuss the magic sword combo. I left them to their scheming and followed the thief out. The pair caught up to us just as we were about to leave, and Blank, who was leaning against the wall, called over. "You really dig her, huh?" Zidane turned to his friend, "I can't sit around knowing a girl's in trouble. Goes against my nature." The redhead just said, "Whatever. You're full of crap." The monkey grinned, "Ohhh... I get it. You're jealous that I'm gonna get me a sweetie pie." I tried not to die of laughter as Blank replied, "Pshhh... She's not even my type. I came down here to give you this." He pulled a purple flask from a pouch at his belt and held it out. "You're always thinking about me..." Zidane said, "but I won't need a love potion to reel this one it." I brushed past him, "Yeah, cause all the magic in the world can't get a girl past what a dork you are." I grabbed the potion from Blank and thanked him, "But what's it for?" He smiled over my shoulder, no doubt at Zidane's face, and said, "This is the medicine I gave to that black mage and the knight. It's sort of like a seed remover."

I tossed the vial back to the former Tantalus member, who said, "Thanks, Blank. I'll see you when I see you." As we were leaving, Blank called, "How about never?" If he only knew how close he comes to that. We stopped to buy some supplies from Cinna, then left for the forest.

It was easy enough to trek through the forest, and we even stopped at the spring to rest for a while before moving on to the plant boss's cave. Once there though, all hell pretty much broke loose. "There she is!" Vivi yelled. Zidane looked at our enemy first, "So, this is the master." And predictably, Steiner nearly rushed in when he saw Garnet passed out in the back. "You stay out of this!" he said, "Alexandria would be disgraced if a mere bandit should rescue the princess." Okay, if that's how he wants to play it. "Fine," I said, sheathing my sword, "go for it." Vivi and Zidane looked like I'd lost my mind, but I said, "When he's all beaten up and more agreeable, we'll help. But until he realizes he's useless on his own, he'll fight us every step of the way." So I didn't say anything as he rushed in headfirst, sword held high.

And I also didn't say anything when he got pollen blasted into his eyes, or when he got zapped with thunder magic right after. No, I just quietly let the fool get it all out of his system. So when he came crawling back twitching and blind, I assumed he was ready to listen. "So," I said, "are 'mere bandits' good enough yet?" He just wordlessly nodded and I tossed some eyedrops at him. "Now, here's the plan. Vivi can roast it with his fire magic from a good distance away, and I'll cover him. Zidane, you see what kind of distractions you can pull off, and Rusty here'll hack at it from close range. Any questions?" There were none, so we moved. And the plan was going off without a hitch, with Zidane smoothly jumping and flipping all over the place, staying just one step ahead of the tentacles and magic. Of course it would inevitably turn it's attention on Steiner, who was really chopping for all he was worth at the monster's base. But when it tried to do any damage, it would ultimately be stopped by the blast of flame that hit it square in it's mouth. There was one time when it tried to use it's pollen trick again, but a quick application of my Winds of Lust ability had that taken care of. And before too long, the beast was slain. Not a moment too soon, either, as Blank happened to stop by to try and save the day.

But with the monster defeated, Steiner quickly hurried to Garnet's side and began screaming in her ear, "Princess! Please get a hold of yourself!" Blank said, "Zidane, give her the stuff." So he did, and that brought her about, at least long enough to drink it. "Is she gonna be okay?" Vivi asked. But before anyone could answer, a lare rumble passed through the forest. "Oh, man! What now!" Now, Blank, some bad juju happens. The roots of the boss collapsed and some weird flower bugs showed up, trying to surround us. But with a quick nudge to Vivi and a shouted "Run!" got us out of there easily. I gave myself another good slash on the forearm to have my winds block the bugs chasing us, and we booked. I felt the bad mojo stir from the center of the forest, and decided I should run faster, so I did.

I took off to the front of the pack and realized I was leaving Vivi behind, so I slowed to grab him, hoist him under one arm, and take off again. It wasn't until I blew by Zidane for the second time that he wondered what I was running from so hard and he turned to see everything behind us turning to stone. That convinced him that he might like to be in front of me and he did his best to do so, but we were nearing the edge of the forest, so I knew what was about to happen next. Without turning around I knew that Blank would get caught, he would toss the map to Zidane, and he would be petrified with everything else around him. I collapsed on the grass to try and catch my breath while Zidane said goodbye to his friend, and Steiner set up a campsite.

After the fire was set I moved just enough to be closer to the blaze, then conked out again, sparing just a glance to see Garnet curled up on the other side of the fire. I quickly fell asleep in spite of Steiner's yelling, and really enjoyed the rest.

I awoke to something very interesting.

I had never been aware of any movement when I slept, but then again I was asleep. But it was only reasonable to assume that if I didn't move in my sleep, then I wouldn't wake up cuddled up with the princess. Now I had two options, either fall back asleep in the arms of a decidedly attractive woman, or be honorable and extricate myself from this situation immediately.

Can you guess what I did?

So a few hours later, she woke up to find me nuzzled against her in a deep sleep. Due to the innocent nature of the princess, she reacted very honestly and SCREAMED IN MY FREAKING EAR! I was up in a flash, sword drawn and scanning for threats. When I didn't find any I wondered why I was deaf and looked down to see a visibly shaken Garnet staring at me oddly. I decided to play the unwitting sleepwalker and said, "What are you doing on my side of the fire?" She was confused for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about." I pointed to the other side, where I had dozed off, and said, "You were over there when I went to sleep. Why are you over here and yelling at me?" She still seemed puzzled for a moment, then her eyes flashed in understanding, "You sleepwalk, do you not?" I of course had to pretend otherwise, "What? How would I know, I was asleep, remember? Well, whatever, it's morning now." I stretched a little and saw that everyone had gathered for our little exchange. Zidane seemed amused by this conversation, Vivi confused, and Steiner outright furious. To throw salt in the wound, I sniffed my shirt and said, "Well, at least you smell nice, princess. It's gonna be a while before I can wash your scent off my clothes." She blushed a deep, deep red and Steiner looked ready to throttle me.

He did in fact reach for his sword, but when I danced behind Garnet, he grudgingly released his grip. So I took off to prepare for the day, and then we broke camp, met with the moogle, and headed for the Ice cavern. The trip was easy enough, and I got to practice my swordsmanship a little more. Once we got there I saw that I wasn't wearing the appropriate clothing for wandering in an ice cavern. The group had a discussion at the mouth of the cave, but I was off in my own world, working my muscles to keep the blood flowing. When I heard Vivi talk about his grandpa passing, though, I tuned back in. "Oh... Forgive my indiscretion." Steiner said. "Don't stress, Vivi. A lot of people where I'm from are lucky if they know their parents, let alone their grandparents. I grew up all alone back in Treno." That got me a few looks of surprise and pity, but I thought it would better explain why I didn't have any family when we got there. "Hey, why don't we hurry up and get this over with?" I said, "I'm freezing my balls off out here."

"You will watch your mouth in front of the princess!" I turned to glare at the knight, "And who's gonna make me? If she has a problem with my language, let the lady speak for herself. Otherwise, me and my BALLS are gonna do what we like." I thought the man was gonna stroke out right there, but Garnet put a hand on his arm a glanced sternly at me. "I would appreciate if you would refrain from using profanity." I bowed mockingly and said, "As you wish, princess." Then I brushed past her, slammed my shoulder into Steiner, knocking him over, and entered the cave.

The sight of the cavern's interior quickly put my jerkishness to the back of everyone's mind, and Garnet said, "What a beautiful place! Seeing the actual cavern is so much better than reading about it!" I sat on the ledge waiting on them to catch up, "You certainly got that right. I never would have imagined simple ice could be so...elegant." It was as if that simple statement made up for every wrong in the world, the way she beamed at me. But her attention was quickly captured by a frozen flower, and Zidane had to remind her to keep moving. She wasn't happy about being interrupted, but I hung back with her and said, "I'll be coming back this way someday, if you wanna see any of this again." She smiled in thanks and caught up with the group.

And so we navigated the slippery terrain of the Ice Cavern, fending off Cave Imps, Garnet convincing me not to eat a Flan, and breaking false walls for treasure, until we'd almost made it out. Once we made it to the corridor full of wind, however, our black mage began to fall behind. "Vivi," Zidane said, "hurry up, or you'll be left behind!" I stood in front of the kid, shielding him from the brunt of the winds, "Dude, can't you see he's three seconds from a magecicle? Cut him some slack." So we tried to continue onward, but Vivi walked right off the ledge onto a side path. Steiner went to check on the little guy and lurched off too. "Yo, Rusty!" Zidane called as he approached, "You're...not alright, are you? What happened to you guys?"

And 'Stupid Question of the Day' goes to?

He jumps off to check on the others as Garnet and I lean over the edge, "Hey, Rusty! Move it or lose it!" But being passed out means you don't hear when people mess with you, or feel when they kick you in the rusty bits, and he just laid there. "It's no use," Zidane said, and just then the princess falls out. "Oh, no you don't," I said as I grab her, "come on, let's go." I bundle her into my arms, and step off the ledge into the relative warmth of the shelf. I quickly shove on Steiner so he's blocking any other winds that might leak down, then lie Garnet and Vivi close together, so their body warmth will help each other out. "I knew this was gonna happen." I said to Zidane. "Well, you could'a warned me." He said. "Whatever, dude...hey, did you hear that?" He stopped, "What?" I motioned for him to be quiet, and I just barely heard it again: a little tinkle of a bell over the winds. Zidane's eyes widened as he picks up on it and I jerk my head in the direction of the exit, where the noise is coming from. He nods and we head over that way to face the first Black Waltz.

"Why didn't you two fall asleep?" Gah, that voice is grating. Who would've thought a manufactured living weapon would sound like Gilbert Godfried got kicked in the nerts? "You should be dead by now." I'm gonna love killing you, just because it'll shut you up. "Are you the one causing this blizzard?" No, it's the little fairy standing next to the jerk asking why we aren't dead. "Hee-hee-hee... That's right!" Thank God almighty, he finally summons Sealion so we can get this over with. Now, unlike in the game, the Black Waltz doesn't just stand still and let you hit him. He's actually a quick pain in the ass who flies around just barely out of reach, casting blizzard spells on Sealion to keep it healthy. So Zidane and I had to pu a lot of effort into pounding on the summon beast, and letting it pound us, until Zidane went into Trance. Once that happened, he unleashed this massive wall of fire that not only knocked Sealion for a loop, but knocked the Black Waltz down long enough for me to decapitate him.

Little fun fact for all you readers: When you decapitate a black mage, you get a hat. That's it, a hat. So anyway, with the mage supporting it gone, the beast itself was easy to defeat. It was actually lamentably weak, after the Tidal Flame, and it only took a flying stab into it's heart crystal to kill it. So once the pair was sent to the next world, the winds immediately stopped, and an eerie voice said, "You may have defeated No.1, but No.2 and No.3 will reclaim the princess."

"Oh, whatever..." Zidane said. "Whatever my butt, dude. We gotta go check on the others." He started when I reminded him of the others, and we bolted back to where the others were lying. "Zidane! Vin!" We saw Garnet waiting for us as we drew near, and the rattle of armor assured me that Vivi and Steiner were rousing, too. "Is everyone alright?" I asked. But Steiner just ignored me and demanded of Zidane, "You! What just happened?" Zidane just tried to play it off, "It was no big deal." The knight exploded, "You're hiding something!" But the thief was sticking to his story, "Hey, nothing happened. You heard me." Suddenly, Steiner's eyes got wide, "You...didn't touch the princess, did you?" That was when I calmly stepped forward, removed his helmet, held it out for him to take back, and headbutted him as hard as I could. I could feel the man's nose crunch under the pressure, and blood came rushing from his face.

I found a handkerchief in my pocket and calmly wiped the blood from my face as the wounded soldier collected himself, then looked him straight in the eye, "You accuse him of thievery, fine. He is a thief, there's no denying that. You call him a scoundrel, okay. I don't like it but his actions will prove otherwise in time. But call a man a rapist, when he has done nothing but help, and so help me I will strike you down should it ever pass your lips again, do you hear me?" I knew what I looked like, blood smeared on my face as I spoke of murder with the same tone one might the weather, and I knew the pale faced fear reflected back at me was well-deserved. But reason had done nothing to restrain this buffoon's tongue, so maybe terror would.

"I am a much more vile being than Zidane could ever hope to be, and even I wouldn't stoop to molesting a sleeping woman. So from now on you will show the proper respect to those who have done you no wrong, do you understand?" I was rewarded for my efforts with a shaky nod, after which I smiled insanely, "Good. Now, gather round, everyone. It's time to continue on." I was sitting at the edge of the cliff outside the cave for a while before my companions joined me. Garnet, at least, showed her decision to ignore what had just happened, "We made it through the Mist! Oh, the sun feels great!" I guess Zidane was gonna follow her lead, because he said, "Look, there's a village. I think I've been there before..."

"It sounds like you've been everywhere, Zidane." More places than you have, princess, that's for damn sure, "The only other worlds I've visited are in books. You may have been to that village. Let's go visit." I heard Garnet walk a ways before Zidane stopped her, "Wait. Hold it. You're a princess! You can't just go rushing in there. People are looking for you. You need a new identity." I was almost knocked over when Steiner pushed Zidane, but he apparently didn't notice because he said, "The princess need not sneak around!" I stood and glanced at the man sharply, causing him to flinch slightly, then I quietly said, "I believe it is the princess' choice to make, don't you?" We turned to see Garnet peering at a dagger that had been knocked loose from Zidane.

Once she noticed our eyes upon her, she looked up and said, "Steiner, I do not intend to return to the castle. And I do see Zidane's point, I need a new name. Zidane..." She held up the blade, "What is this called?" He grinned, "That? That's a dagger. All knives of that length are called daggers. Short swords are a bit longer. The big sword you hold with both hands is called a broadsword. And..." It looked like he would've gone on for a while if the princess hadn't interrupted him, "Oh, okay... I understand now. So this is called a 'dagger'..." Steiner was his usual killjoy self, "Princess! It's a weapon! Please be careful." But I didn't trust leaving him to conversation alone just yet, "Technically, it's a tool. It only became a weapon when someone with intent held it. The same is true for a rock, captain Steiner. Now why don't we trust that the princess is a big girl, and knows not to cut herself on the sharp side, huh?"

It was hilarious watching him get angry when he couldn't do anything about it.

Then, Garnet turned back to us and said, "I've decided! From now on, my name is Dagger. What do you think, Zidane?" He nodded, "Great, Dagger. Now, let's work on your speech. Try to sound more casual. Like me." She frowned a little, but nodded, "I shall try." I cut in again, "That's not really right, Dagger. Try to fit as many contractions into your speech as you can. People talk like they don't have time to get whole words out. Or if that sounds to dull, you can use more relaxed words like, 'alrighty'." I didn't think years of training could really mess with someone this bad, until I heard Dagger choke on the word 'alrighty'. But she managed to say it, and Zidane complimented her, much to Steiner's despair. "Well," he said, "let's go."

And so we made our way leisurely do Dali, and I was so tired by the time we got there, I could've gotten trampled by a black mage army and not noticed it. So while Vivi and Zidane argued by the entrance, I immediately pushed into the inn and ordered five beds. The innkeeper told me they only had four, I said fine, he took the money, went back to his nap, and I went to go lie in a coma for the next five years. I was enjoying my coma too, until Steiner ruined it with his stupid existence. "That's enough!" he yelled, to which I replied, "SHUT THE FUCK UP, TIN MAN!" I rose red-eyed and irritable as I glared at him. "Is there some reason you thought it neccessary to wake me?" He seemed a little frightened of me while he answered, and tired as I was I wondered why, "Zidane speaks as if he will be taking the princess to Lindblum." I held up my hand to forestall whatever he was gonna say next, and turned to Dagger, "Is that where you wish to go, Dagger dear?"

She nodded resolutely, and I pointed imperiously at Steiner, "The princess has spoken! Now, I am going to sleep. Whosoever wakes me next had better have a suitable offering of food, wine, or women, or I shall be very upset." And with that, I was out. I awoke once again next to Dagger and wondered just what part of me thinks this is funny. But her body was just too warm to move away from, and I drifted back to sleep, hoping she wouldn't scream next time.

And she didn't. I was able to fully awaken to an empty room this time, after a restful sleep. I stretched for a few minutes, working out the stiffness in my muscles, and left in search of food. I saw some kids running around the village and wondered if they'd had Vivi picked up yet. I figured I could pull the same stuff and achieve two results, depending on whether or not it had happened, but it could wait until I had eaten. So I headed off down the dirt path to the shop where I knew food to be cooking. But thankfully, on my way there I spotted Zidane talking with Vivi by the chocobo pen. So I put Vivi out of my mind for now and strode into the shop. When the girl saw me, she immediately put her guard up, which isn't surprising considering what they're doing here. But I just shuffled in and groaned, "Fooooooodd." I crashed onto a barrel stool lifelessly and she squealed and began scrambling around preparing something. I was about to nap on the counter when she finaly set the plate down in front of me.

You would've thought someone hit me with jumper cables the way I attacked that meal. It was simple, just dried potatoes and some kabobs, but it might as well have been a king's feast for all I cared. Once the plate was clean, I immediately felt better and smiled up at the frightened girl watching me, "Thank you, little lady. I really needed that. How much do I owe you?" She grabbed a stack of four plates that apparently I had finished off and hadn't noticed, and counted it out, "Five orders of dried potatoes, and fifteen kabobs totals 170 gil." I grabbed 200 gil and set the payment on one pile and the rest on another. When she looked at the other pile strangely I said, "Every good waitress deserves a tip, right? I just wish I had more I could spare." This got a small smile from the girl and I stood to leave. "So," I asked, "what do I call you, little lady?" She looked shyly at the ground and said, "Slai."

"Well, Slai," I said, "I'll definitely be back for more of this delicious food. Don't forget me now, okay?" And with that, I headed back to the inn. Or that's where I was going, when Zidane and Dagger showed up, "Hey, Vin. You seen Vivi?" Oh crap, I forgot to save Vivi. Well, nothing for it but to save him now, "Nope. Why, you lost my little buddy, Zidane?" He frowned, "Yeah, we don't know where he's gotten to." I scratched my neck, "Well where was the last place you saw him?" Zidane pointed and we gathered over by the chocobo pen, "Vivi said he heard a chocobo here." That was when Vivi's crying made it through the pipe in the ground. "Is someone crying?" Zidane asked. It happened again and they finally noticed the pipe rising from the ground. "Yo, Vivi! Can you hear me?" From out of the hole we could hear a muffled, "...Vin?"

"Yeah, buddy, it's me. Where are you?" We listened real hard and heard him say, "They told me to stay here..." Even though I knew this happened before hand, hearing the fear in Vivi's voice made me want to hurt somebody, "Are you alright, Vivi?" A pause, then, "Yeah, I'm fine." I hadn't realized I was fingering my sword until I almost yanked it free of it's sheath right then, "I'm gonna get you out of there, Vivi, alright? Just hold on, I'm coming."

"...Okay." I heard Zidane over my shoulder, "What's going on in this village? There's gotta be a way into the underground somewhere. Let's look for one." I of course didn't need to look, and nearly broke the windmill doors off when I kicked them in. I turned a little and said to them, "Give me a few seconds head start, then follow. It's gonna get messy." I stomped over and yanked the bulkhead up, hopped down the hole, and stormed down the tunnel where a couple guards were waiting with Vivi. I ran in and slammed one guy's head into the table so he blacked out, then whipped my sword out to point at the guy's eye. "Vivi, you alright?" He nodded nervously and I said, "Good. Now I want you to go back up the tunnel a ways, Zidane and Dagger are coming to pick you up."

"What are you gonna do, Vin?" I smiled that same insane smile I had back in the Ice Cavern, "I'm gonna tear shit up." And with that I leapt forward and slammed my fist into the guys temple, knocking him out. I twirled around and blazed down the hallway, ready to cause mayhem. I smashed storage coffins, I broke open barrels, I ripped through crates, I shattered urns, and shredded ropes. I caused the most destruction in the least amount of time, and I did it all with a maniacal smile on my lips. And that was before I made it to the Mist machine. I continued my rampage and threw open the door to the Mist intake area. I yanked and pulled and beat on the bells until they finally were aimed at each other. That was sure to cause a few problems. Then I broke all of the glass pieces and yanked wired apart and left the sparking mess to be discovered.

When I came out of the intake area, I saw that Zidane, Dagger, and Vivi had caught up with me, but they were looking at the egg machine. Without a word I grabbed a pot and a piece of wood, put the wood inside, and jammed it into a cog. The pottery was shattered easily, but it slowed the cog enough to be stopped by the wood and the machine began to overheat with the stress. Some small piece gave somewhere and the conveyor belt stopped. The eggs of course had already quit since I removed the Mist that was forming them. I went on to cut ropes, pull wires, wrap chains around important looking components. I even cut the ghysal greens down and fed them to the chocobo powering the conveyor belt. I could hear Zidane and Dagger behind me telling me to stop, before they got caught, but these people had made one of my friends cry.

And I will exact vengance.

I finally made it past the hatching area, and saw that there were still a couple black mages hanging from the ropes. I briefly thought about cutting them down, but Dagger would need to see these, to continue to let the doubt grow in her heart. So I left this area pristine and continued. The rest of the workers must've heard the commotion and figured that the machine was exploding and ran, because I didn't see any of them after the first two. So I climbed the stairs after destroying the rest of the stuff underground, and threw open the door to sunlight and the cargo ship. I sat quietly, waiting on the rest of them to catch up, and seethed. How could I have let Vivi go through that again? For food? That's horrible!

I was silently fuming for a while before I saw Steiner running at me from by the watchtower. I figured the Black Waltz would be here soon and I could work out some frustration then. Just then, the rest of the group joined me on the ground level, discussing what they had seen. When they saw the airship, they were silent for a second, then Zidane asked, "Where do you think this airships going?" I looked up and with a straight face said, "After I commandeer it, Lindblum." So that solved the transportation issue, now for the Steiner issue, so when he finally caught up, I took him aside and said, "Listen, I've gotten the princess to agree to board the ship. If she asks, it's going to Lindblum, okay?" He seemed a bit distressed at lying to the princess, but nodded. Then, once I had the team lined out, the second Black Waltz came whizzing forward.

"Princess Garnet, the queen is waiting for you at the castle!" Oh, good God, why do the Waltzes have these ridiculous voices? This one spoke in a glass shattering falsetto, and it creeped me out more than his predecessor. Zidane had to state the obvious for the group, "You were all sent by the castle?" And Steiner had to be difficult, "What? What are you talking about!"

"You were all unconscious from the blizzard. He said he was a Black Waltz!"

"Are you the one who defeated No.1? I am Black Waltz No.2! My power, magic, and spe-" I interrupted before my headache could get any worse, unleashing the Winds of Lust to push the Black Waltz into the ground so I could shave a few inches off his height before he teleported away. Before he could announce his indignation, I threw my scabbard into his face and as he brushed it aside, he found me ramming my sword into his skull. I rode his corpse down to the ground and said, "Good Lord, why do these Waltzes have such annoying voices?" Finally, my rage had subsided and I looked back to see the shocked faces of my companions gawking at me.

"What? He was annoying." Zidane nodded, "Yeah, but now how can we find out who sent him?" I blinked, "Isn't it obvious? If Dagger's actually seen the symbol on those barrels before, and she's only ever been one place in her life, where did she see it? And if the black mages are being sent there, then that suped up black mage is from the same place, right?" Dagger seemed to deflate, "So my mother is behind all this." Steiner quickly jumped in to give his two cents, "It can't be! There is no reason to trust the words of some bandit." For once I agreed, "He's right Dagger. Don't let anyone else make up your mind. Trust what you've seen, and what you've figured out for yourself. Now, this ship isn't going anywhere for a while, so I'm headed back to the inn for a nap."


	2. Chapter 2

And so we headed back into town and rented the inn again. This time I was there when the innkeeper saw Vivi and I gave him a very stern glare to keep him quiet. Once the gang went into the next room I started playing with the hilt of my sword, "I think it's best for you if you never noticed the black mage traveling with us. Okay?" He nodded enthusiastically and I headed across the street to the weapon shop. I found a few pieces of decent armor and traded them out before checking out their blade selection. All their stuff was shiny and new and just didn't seem to fit the look of a Demon Swordsman. So I looked to the girl behind the counter, "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm looking for a weapon that looks more like this." I slid my sword free and laid it on the counter. She looked it over without really touching it, and headed into the back. I hung out for a few minutes and was about to leave when she came back carrying a wrapped bundle in her arms.

"I have this, maybe it's what you're looking for." She flipped the canvas off to reveal a sword quite a bit longer than mine, with a hilt that looked carved from black stone. I picked it up and slid a few inches of the blade free. The steel was better taken care of, but still didn't seem any brighter. The flat of the blade had a sort of flowing script that I couldn't make out. "Yeah, this is exactly what I was looking for. How much do I owe you?" She shook her head, "Just promise me you'll take it far away from here, and you can have it." I was surprised at that, since usually shopkeepers are always looking to make money, but I agreed and slapped my new weapon onto my back and sheathed my old sword. I went back to the inn to find the beds taken and everyone asleep, so I hunkered down on the wall to get a good rest in before we left.

A few hours finds me once again in Dagger's bed and I got a wonderful idea. RPGs are all about story, which means character development and backstory. So I kept still until the princess woke up and mumbled a little, finishing with a quiet "Momma..." This ought'a make things more interesting. I snuggled closer and felt her arms circle around me softly. Interesting.

We make our way back to the waiting airship and begin to board. Steiner goes first as always, and Vivi stops to talk to Zidane. Instead of the thief getting to cop a feel, I step up to the ladder and bow to Dagger, "My lady, your carriage awaits." She giggles and grabs the ladder, which I had quickly smeared some grease from my food earlier on. She begins to slip and gives a little shriek, and I react quickly to grab her and yank her close to me. I feign concern and ask, "Are you alright, what's wrong?" All the while wondering how long it's gonna take her to say something about my hand on her back end. "I'm alright, I just slipped." She said. "Are you sure?" I ask. "Yes, thank you." And with that, she finally notices. She flares a deep red and I pretend to just notice my hand placement. I yank my hands back and mumble an apology and quickly scale the ladder. Once I'm safely out of sight, I smirk evilly. This is just too fun. I can't wait until I get around to Beatrice again, since she's the one I'm really interested in.

But we take off and enjoy the trip for a ways before I head into the cockpit and turn us for Lindblum. Everyone feels the shift in direction and come up to see. Since the only one I lied to was Steiner, he was the only one who came into the cockpit to see me at the helm, "You scoundrel, what is the meaning of this?" I smile over at him, "I probably should've told you, but I'm comandeering the ship and taking us to Lindblum. I'm really jonesing for a Ghysahl pickle and I know a shop that sells 'em cheap." The knight puffs up nearly enough to fit his armor, and I just smile wider to irritate him further. Finally, he grabs his sword and drops into his stance, "Turn this ship around now. The princess must be returned to Alexandria." I wipe the smile off of my face and turn to stare out ahead of us, "Put it away, Adelburt. You have no chance against me. Unlike you, I learned the sword to survive and protect something, not so I could spout inane idealism and steal people's freedom."

"How dare you insult me! I am the captain of Alexandria's Pluto Knights!" I shoot a glare at him, "You say I lie? Then tell me Steiner, why is it that even after the princess has told you time and again of her wishes to reach Lindblum, you insist on escorting her back to that prison of a castle. And furthermore, you refuse to acknowledge that the Black Waltz confessed it's alliance with Queen Brahne and was planning to return her. Why didn't you side with him then?" The man was at a loss for words, and I resumed my course, "You are pathetic. You're stubborn, arrogant, short-sighted, delusional, and violent. You're the kind of knight that makes people mistrust the kingdom. The kind of knight I hid from as a child." Before the conversation could go further, Black Waltz No. 3 shows up to retrieve Dagger. The rest of the guys show up and I ask Dagger to take the helm as I follow Zidane and Vivi out to deal with this new menace.

I quickly zoned out before his voice could annoy me, but was surprised when he didn't sound nearly as weird as his predecessors. He sounded kind of like Edward Norton for some reason. I found it odd, but a welcome change from the other two. I grabbed my new sword from my back and just waited for the battle to begin, allowing the wizard to deal a blow before I struck at him. But before I did, I felt an immense surge of energy. "Oh cool! Do I really get Trance too?" And sure enough, a wave of energy envelops me and my clothes take on a rather sinister quality, with spikes everywhere and clawed gauntlets. "Awww yeah!" I closed quicker than I usually do and scored three parallel slashes into the mage's torso before dodging to the side as his staff came down where I was. I knocked the weapon out of his hand and slashed my forearm along the vein, splashing blood everywhere.

"It's time to see my new ability!" I crowed as the sky darkened and rain began to pour. The deck softened and squirmed beneath our feet, resolving into a mass of bodies covered in mud. The Black Waltz tried to escape the muck, but his feet were stuck fast in it. I could feel a presence behind me and refused to look because it would ruin the drama of the moment. Instead I roared, "The Pits of Gluttony!" and laughed maniacally as Cerberus dove over me and toward our enemy. The creature screamed as Cerberus ripped into him mercilessly. I began to feel my energy drain and slumped forward as the effect of my Pit wore off. The deck became wood once more and the battle continued. Only this time, the Black Waltz was weakened and was easily beaten down by the other three. Then as always it takes off back to Zorn and Thorn. I leave the guys to their banter and stagger back into the cockpit with my arm bleeding badly. Dagger sees me coming and quickly performs a Cure spell on me. I smile my thanks and take the wheel from her to try and gain some distance on the malfunctioning Waltz.

We had just about made it through the gate when Zidane began waving his arms wildly and pointing behind us. I signaled my understanding and gunned the engine just enough to make it through before the final Black Waltz dies in a ball of fire and shrapnel. "WOOT!" I'm celebrating behind the wheel as Zidane goes to check the engine. I already know it's wrecked, but you can't help but feel awesome after doing something so awesome. I mean, I just went through Trance! And I almost single-handedly beat that Black Waltz! Does it get any better than this? I surely hope so. "Such kind words! I am not worthy! Well, now I've made up my mind, I vow to protect you, princess, until we return to the castle!"

I groaned loudly and turned to the group, "If he's gonna follow us, then I vote we at least get him some armor that fits. That rattling is really annoying." I laugh at Steiner's indignance, and slump against the helm as a wave of exhaustion hits me. Of course Dagger, being the most caring, is first to reach my side. She checks me over for wounds and I say gruffly, "I'm fine! Just a little tired. My abilities take a lot out of me." I pass the controls to Zidane and head off to find somewhere to rest until we land. Out on the deck, I find a bit of rail that wasn't destroyed with a Black Mage hat on it. I lop off the end with my older sword, which I decided to call Alistair, and set it on my head with the brim low over my eyes. Then I sat against the rail and enjoyed a little nap.

We dock in Lindblum castle's airship hangar and disembark to speak with the local welcoming committee. I decide to take the initiative and move to the front of the group, motioning them to wait behind. The guard asks who we are and I flash him the Eagle Claw, which I'd taken off of Dagger as I passed. "Now," I said, "what say you stop wasting Princess Garnet's time and allow us to see the Regent?" He of course sends off for Minister Artania to verify my claim and I mosey back to the guys and toss Dagger the pendant. "The Eagle Claw! When did you..." She said. I interrupted with "Just now, as I passed by you. I grew up in Treno, remember? You die of starvation if you don't learn a little pickpocketing. After all, the nobles can't have common trash making money. Might make them think they're worth something." Steiner was livid, "You dare steal from the princess!" I smiled at him and said, "Oh, I dared more than that." I flashed him his item pouches and sword belt and laughed as he nearly had a heart attack. He charged me like he was going to do something, and I slapped him with his own sword. When he fell to the ground, I unsheathed his blade and cut the leather bindings with a few good cuts.

As his armor fell to pieces around him, I calmly returned his weapon and items, as well as a pouch of gil. "When we finish speaking with the regent, you will go into town and find some armor that fits. I don't care if you have to custom order it." I said. I yanked him to his feet and went to stand next to Vivi. "Hey Vin," he said, "why are you so mean to Mister Steiner?" I lifted the brim of my new hat and said, "Well, like I said I grew up in Treno. Most people call it the City of Nobles, but the people who live there say it's the City of Thieves. And it's not just because of the poor who steal to live, but the nobles who steal from each other for status. Or the guards who beat and rob us for fun. Steiner reminds me of a guard who used to torment me and my sister years ago. He would take any food we got, saying common rabble didn't deserve to eat. He'd chase me down and beat me for 'crimes I would likely commit in the future' and once my sister reached a certain age..."

I stopped as the Minister arrived and saw Dagger. They had their chat and we quickly made our way to the Regent's chamber. Minister Artania kept glancing over at Steiner and finally asked, "Sir knight, why are you...?" Steiner just flushed red and I had to grip the elevator rail to keep from laughing. We made it to the top of the castle and everyone bustled out, but I hit the button for the town level and was gone before they noticed. I dropped the Mage Hat to the floor and boarded the air taxi to the Business district. Why waste time with them while nothing interesting was happening? I knew the story, after all. So I picked through the shops and replenished my supplies, then headed to the synthesists' shop. I ordered a new blade and dropped my weapons on the counter for materials, then settled down to wait. I watched as the man pounded metal, muttering under his breath the whole time. Every so often he would stomp the bellows to stoke the flames. Apparently, synthesis in this game is just weapon forging. I got my wicked looking new sword and belted it on. This one was heavier, and a lot bigger. Good, I would need the extra weight to chop through the Zanghol in the Festival later. But then I realized that I was freakin starving. So I headed out to the Industrial district to find a bar, and sure enough I run across the little place where Zidane meets up with Freya.

I order pretty much everything on his menu and place the money down in advance, earning a grin and a "Yes sir!" from the barkeep. Then I take a seat at the back table to wait. For some reason the waitress keeps glancing over at me and it was starting to weird me out when finally she asks, "Vin? Vintistika Thiess?" I push off the wall and place my hand on my sword belt, "How do you know my name?" She makes a face and steps closer, "You mean you don't remember me? Come on, it's Lilian!" I pretend to think, "I'm sorry, I'm gonna need more than that." Now she was starting to look mad, "I can't believe you forgot about me! After all I did for you!" Her outburst was starting to give me a headache, and my swordhand was getting twitchy, so I yelled out, "Listen to me, Lil' Lilly! If you don't stop yellingACK!" Who would've thought such a thin lady could have such powerful arms. But she clamped down on my neck and nearly throttled me right there. "Oh, you do remember!" She said, "That was a mean trick, Vinnie."

Okay, so apparently whatever brought me here and gave me my character card also threw in some extra surprises. This was gonna be interesting. So I gasped out, "Lilly...air!" And she released me with a little blush. I took a second to breath, then kicked a chair out across the table from me. "Sure it was a little mean, Lilly, but you didn't have to suffocate me for it." I said. "It's just what you deserve, running off like that without telling anybody where you were going!" She said, "You know how much we used to worry about you." I shook my head, "We?" This time her blush got deeper, "Well,...I did." I smiled and leaned back. Well, well, it seems that Vin Thiess was a bit of a ladies' man himself. The barkeep signaled that my food was ready and I took a few trips back and forth moving it. So, I thought to myself, I managed to get away with not knowing her for now, but what if she's important to my story? I'd better check it out more.

"Lilly, you know why I had to leave." I said. At least, I hope she did. Cause then she could tell me. "Why," she asked, "because of your sister? To hunt down that man? You know what she'd think about that." Ah, so my whole family was dead. Good to know. "Well, she can't exactly tell me anymore, can she?" That quieted her, and I managed a few bites before she said, "You could've at least told me you were leaving." I chuckled, "You would've tried to stop me." "Of course I would've! Or if you wouldn't listen I could've..." she trailed off and I knew what she was going to say. "I couldn't have you following me, Lilly. I went to some dangerous places, and there's no guarantee I could've protected you." I was so engrossed in spinning this line of bullshit I almost missed Freya walking in. Which is funny, because I never thought I'd be too involved in something to miss a giant rat with a kick-ass hat walking through a door.

"You look really strong now." Lilian said, bringing me back to our conversation. "I paid a price for this strength, though. I'm not the same guy you knew. It might be better for you if you just forgot about me." I finished my food and stood to leave, but she grabbed my arm as I passed. "Please," she said, "don't go." My random craziness can sometimes be a curse, but this time I liked it because it gave me a wonderful idea. I slowly reached up and slid my new sword free. Lilian flinched back like she was afraid and I grinned sadly, "Don't worry, it's not for you." I rested the blade against my arm and held the hilt towards her, "Tell you what. You cut me, and I'll stay. Just see what I've become before you decide to keep holding onto me." The waitress looked like she was going to be sick, but she grabbed the hilt tenderly. I thought she was going to vomit or pass out, as pale as she was. She looked up at me like I might tell her to forget about it, but I just nodded and smiled at her. Finally, she gulped and yanked the blade across my arm. The blood welled up quickly and I called out to the Winds of Lust. Suddenly a gale was ripping it's way through the bar, tossing tables, chairs, and people every which way.

The only folks who stayed grounded were Freya, Lilian, and I. I laughed as madly as I could while the winds whirled every which way, until I saw Freya notice me and begin to reach for her spear. I snapped my attention to her and she froze, "I wouldn't, Burmecian. I'm not completely in control right now, and we don't need my power running wild with all these innocents nearby." The lie was enough to make her hand drop back and I began to hum and sway in time with the gusts. Finally Lilian screamed, "Enough!" And I let the storm die. It was actually a good thing she had, because I didn't have much energy left in me. I sighed a little in satisfaction and slapped the flat of my sword. The weapon whirled out of her hand and I caught the handle with a little flourish. I slid the blade back into it's scabbard quickly and said, "Well, what do you think, Lil' Lilly? Still want a demon like me around?"

She looked at me with a strange glint in her eyes and I groaned internally. Sure enough, she grabbed my sword belt and tried her best to yank me to the floor. Her breathing was becoming erratic and her eyes were the size of saucers when I snatched myself out of her grip. She let out a little sound of disappointment and tried to grab at me again. I danced back and said, "The hell is wrong with you, woman?" She didn't say a word and I was entirely sure she'd lost her ever loving mind, when Freya popped her on the back of the head and knocked her out, "That is a despicable trick, boy." I quickly readjusted my clothes and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just called a little wind to get her to leave me be." She looked like she was completely disgusted with me, and I didn't think that was a good way to start our relationship, since I'd be accompanying them to Burmecia.

With that in mind, I dropped another pouch of gil on the bar for when the owner woke up, and bundled my travelling cloak into a pillow to put under Lilian's head. I kissed her cheek and said, "Sorry, but I gotta keep going." Then turned and brushed by Zidane, who had just arrived.

Later that day, I was sitting on the edge of a bed in Lindblum Castle, waiting for the Festival to begin. I was still in a pretty bad mood after what happened with Lilian, so I wasn't even hanging with Viv. It was odd really, back in the real world I never felt guilty about anything I said or did to somebody. I think it's because Lilian seemed to trust me, when nobody else has before. I was snapped out of my reverie when the guard came around to explain the rules of the Festival and to check on our rewards. I waited until everyone else had given their answer, then stepped forward and motioned for the guard to lean in. "In the city," I said, "there's a waitress named Lilian. I want her to recieve my prize of gil if I win. And also deliver this note with the Master Hunter, okay?" I passed him the note I had written and he nodded his understanding. He assigned us our beginning locations and I lucked out with the Business district. I loosened my sword in it's sheath and headed for the air taxi.

As soon as it stopped, I was off like a shot. My time spent in the game world had given me all kinds of muscle, and it was nothing for me to swing the larger sword Moloch to cleave the monsters in two. I tore through the fangs and mus headed for the plaza where Zanghol was, determined to win the prize money. I made it there before Freya or Zidane and vaulted off the statue to gain some height. I reversed my grip on Moloch and dove for the giant pig's head. Just as I planted my feet on top of the monster's head, I drove my blade deep into his throat. He bellowed in pain and thrashed in an effort to dislodge me, but I kept my grip and worked the blade from side to side, searching. After what felt like an eternity, I hit an artery and a fountain of blood erupted from the wound.

He quickly lost his energy and fell in a heap to the ground, I signaled a watching guard and yelled, "I want this for food later! And don't forget to mark my points!" Then I headed off to protect my lead. I passed Zidane on the way out and said, "Don't bother, cleaned it out already." I spent the next couple hours just mowing down fodder until a bell sounded to signal the finish. I had won by a landslide. We all headed back to the castle to speak with the regent, and I messed with Zidane on the way up. "Too bad you didn't win, Zidane. Looks like you'll have to find another way to coerce a date from Dagger." He chuckled, "The way things are going, I won't need to...wait, how did you know about that?" I just smiled and waited for the elevator to stop.

We made it to the throne room and the regent was waiting for us. "Well done, son gwok." Ha! The regent sounds like Kermit the Frog! This world is full of whacked out voices. "I must say, I was surprised to hear about your request. gwok A noble gesture, if I've ever heard one." I just waved it off, "It's nothing. Something I should've done a long time ago." The gang seemed confused about the conversation, which was good. I enjoyed being the mysterious character nobody was sure of. "What's he talking about, Vin? Where's your prize?" Zidane asked. "It's already been delivered, I'm sure." I said, looking to the regent. He nodded and I smiled and saluted him. Just then, the wounded Burmecian came limping in. I hung back, disinterested in their conversation. I wasn't much for the cheesy dialouge in certain parts of the game. Honestly, this was almost my least favorite Final Fantasy, next to 12. Once they made their heroic proclamations, I slipped past them and headed for the door. "Vin!" Vivi called.

"If the Black Mages are attacking," I said, "then it's safe to say Alexandria has gone on the offensive. We need to move quickly to disable them. Their commanders will still be on the front lines searching for the Burmecian king, let's go." But the regent stopped me as I knew he would. "Wait! gwok There's no need to rush off so soon. Stay and rest first. Eat." I looked to Freya and said, "It's the lives of your people at stake. What say you?" She was torn. It was plain in her expression that she wanted to go tearing off to Burmecia as bad as I did, but she knew perfectly well that leaving so soon would wear us down too quickly. "We leave first thing tomorrow," she said, "make sure you are all rested and prepared for the journey." I nodded and went to kill time until the food was done. On a lark, I decided to head back to the business district and stop in at the item shop. I asked Alice if she had anything that would render sleeping weed ineffective. She gave me a vial of greenish liquid that would make me all kinds of hyper until I took the sleeping weed, and I took it on the spot to give it time to work. Little did I know that .

The run back to the castle helped to take the edge off of the drug, and I was just in time for the feast. I headed to the banquet hall, still trying not to break out into a jog, and immediately began chowing down. Since I showed up in the game world, I'd had too much travel food and too little hot meals. The roasted meats were delicious and I was happy to see a large chunk of what turned out to be Zanghol meat, which is the best ham you've ever had. I slowed down a little when the medicinal aftertaste of the sleeping weed got kind of overbearing, but a few pulls of wine washed that right down. I had eaten twice my weight in meat and was nibbling on a pastry when the others began dropping to the floor. "Poison!" Steiner yelled. "Good gods, do you ever stop yelling? Why do I even bother to ask that anymore?" I glanced over and was amazed at how much of a difference a decent suit of armor can make. He almost looked like he could be formidable now. "It's just sleeping weed. Dagger put it in the food to knock out the others so she could leave unnoticed. But she didn't put any in yours, you dolt." Dagger was shocked, "How did you know that?" I picked a bit of the drug off of my food and popped it in my mouth, "It was on everyone's food but yours and Steiner's. He's too much of an honorable fool to do something like that, and nobody else stands to gain. So where are you going? Back to Alexandria?" She nodded and Steiner came closer to listen to our conversation.

"But how did you stay awake? I've been watching you, and you ate more than anyone." I finished my pastry and licked the cream from my fingers, "There once was a man in Treno who called himself my uncle. He fed me for a while and taught me to use a knife. I always found myself tired and sick in his house, until one day I found that I simply wasn't anymore. Turns out he had been drugging my food and water everyday to build my tolerance. Then he tried to sell me to an assassin's guild. So you'd have to give me a lethal dose of sleeping weed to affect me." Dagger looked taken aback at this story, and Steiner was unusually quiet. I turned to the knight and said, "Adelburt Steiner, don't tell me you're starting to change your opinion of me. Why, that would mean I'm not just some soulless street scum after all!" Instead of acting angry like he always did, this time he dropped his gaze and said, "It seems that I have misjudged you, mister Vin. Yours has been a hard life."

"Little known fact, sir knight, every life outside Treno's rich district is hard. We live only by what we're willing and able to take for ourselves. The sword I used to learn my Evil Sword techniques was stolen." I drained my goblet, "But we waste time. You must go before the others wake. Steiner, learn that right and wrong is not as easy to see as you might think. And Dagger, you must realize the truth of these recent events." I bustled the two of them out of the door, and went back to my place at the table to drop and wait.

The others awoke a short time later and took stock of the situation. I pretended to sleep for a while longer until they finished talking, then Vivi noticed that I hadn't risen yet. "Guys, I think something might be wrong with Vin!" They crowded around me and I felt a furred hand reach out to find my pulse. Without warning, I snatched her wrist and twisted, bringing Freya to the ground as I rolled over her. My other hand had my sword halfway out of it's sheath before I stopped and pretended surprise. "Freya! Damn girl, I almost killed you. What are you doing?" She shoved me off of her and got to her feet, "I was checking to see if you were alright. Nothing more." I yawned and stretched, feeling the numbness in my muscles from lying on the floor. "Why was I alseep?" Zidane spoke up, "Dagger must've drugged us with the sleeping weed I gave her." As I scratched and fixed my clothes, I pondered how much to tell them about Dagger's plan. Finally, I stood and said, "She must be heading back to Alexandria to confront her mother. Unfortunately, we don't have time to follow her. We have to be making our way to Burmecia soon."

And so we geared up and took off through the gate. The monsters on this side of Lindblum were a bit tougher than were used to, but we quickly acclimated. Soon we were barely stopping to fight, but just slapping them down and moving on. Before long we were standing outside Gizamaluke Grotto. Without turning, I said, "I've heard stories that the one who trains the Dragon Knights lives here." Freya stepped forward into my line of sight, peering into the entrance of the cave, "Yes, Lord Gizamaluke. It is strange to think Alexandria's armies could make it past him." I reached into a pouch on my belt and popped a strip of jerky into my mouth, "Well, we won't get to Burmecia any faster standing around. Let's move."

Inside the Grotto, we found the Black Mages and defeated them. Vivi had his moment to ponder his existence, then we moved on. I never liked this part of the journey, so I didn't pay much attention. But once we reached the chamber of Gizamaluke, I had to focus. "There is evil here," I said. That's when the serpent appeared and attacked. "He's been corrupted!" I yelled, dodging it's strike. We battled hard up until the last, then I yelled, "Pull back! I have an idea." When they retreated, I once again reversed my grip on my sword and waited. I had to dodge a few spells, but soon Gizamaluke struck at me. I hopped lightly onto the monster's head and placed my palm against his skin. If I could absorb the abilities from a weapon, and all my abilities were connected to evil, could I not then absorb the evil from him? Why the hell not, in a world where a guy can get sucked into a game?

So I wedged my sword between his scales for grip and focused. I tried my hardest to find some way to make this work, even when the beast dove under the water. My lungs began to burn with the effort of holding my breath, but I felt something. Deep, deep inside Gizamaluke's head was a foreign energy. I could feel a kind of sharp pulse that made me think of madness, and I knew this was what was making him act this way. I had to hurry, since Gizamaluke was diving ever deeper, and I was soon to pass out from oxygen deprivation. I pushed my senses into the creatures mind and grabbed the energy. The force fought against my pull with a biting cold. It left me feeling angry and confused and violent, but still I held on, because I knew I wouldn't get another chance at this. So I pulled and yanked and fought, all the while feeling the hollow pain in my lungs. Finally, something gave in the snake's head and I snatched the madness free from him. As quickly as it had dove, Gizamaluke began to rise to the surface, but it was too little too late.

As we moved upward, I gave in and opened my mouth to breathe, sucking in a lungful of water. I thrashed and struggled to breathe, desperately clutching at my sword. But my vision was quickly darkening, and my limbs felt heavy. I could see the light of the torches above, but I couldn't hold out that long. Just before we reached the surface, my strength left me and I lost my grip on my sword. I sank down into the water and blackness overtook me.

Death isn't nearly as bad as I'd thought. It's dark, but not oppressingly so. I felt a sense of peace here, like I'd done all I could do and there was no shame in stopping here. There was a presence at my back. We sat in silence a while, just enjoying the stillness of this not-place, then she spoke, "You know you have to go back." The news didn't upset me, nor did it make me happy. It was a statement of truth, and here that was all there was. "I don't want to go back," I said, "I like it here." She chuckled, "It's not like you'll never be back here. Everyone comes here eventually. But you haven't finished what you are meant to do." A light was intruding on my vision. I could hear noise rushing towards me, and suddenly I felt like I was being pulled forward. I started to feel the beginnings of panic and reached back for her. She placed something in my hand and moved away, saying, "Don't worry, Jeff. We'll meet again."

Coughing up lungfuls of water hurt, but once you start you can't really stop. So I kept at it until I was sure the only thing I had left to cough up WAS my lung, then I curled up into a ball and shivered until the vibrations thawed out my bones. By that time I was feeling a little human and I could sit up and look around. The guys were huddled around me, Freya looking soggy and unhappy, and behind them was Gizamaluke. I looked up at the giant snake and croaked, "I want my sword back." The monster laughed and said, "Of course." Then he curled around until I could reach up and dislodge my blade from where I'd stuck it. He then straightened up and said, "I thank you for curing me of that foul curse. I was not aware there were any demon swordsmen left in the world."

I tried to stand, but I couldn't quite pull it off yet, so I sat back down and said, "I'm it. Never heard of any others. Kinda self-taught." He thought about this, then said, "Then allow me to tell you their tale, by way of thanks. The demon swordsmen are an ancient tribe, as old as the Summoners themselves. Where the Summoners used the powers of jewels to call upon the holy Eidolons, the demon swordsmen used special ritually-forged blades to wield the powers of the Demons.

They watched over the weaker tribes along with the Summoners, teaching them to survive and watching over them. They were a powerful race, but they quickly saw their end when their young began to fall into corruption. In order to prevent the devastation that would undoubtedly occur, the elder swordsmen ordered the forges to stop producing their blades, and that all practices of the Evil Sword art stopped. The elders themselves sealed their powerful weapons in special tombs hidden all across the world, for the day when a swordsman would come who could control their power and revive the tribe."

Freya looked up and asked, "Lord Gizamaluke, how is it that you know so much of these demon swordsmen?" He looked over at the woman and said, "Because my home is built over one such tomb. The sword of the Water Demon Calypso rests at the bottom of this chamber." I shoved myself to my feet and staggered toward the edge, "Well, I feel like a swim all of a sudden." Zidane jumped in front of me and pushed me back, "You can't! You almost died going down there once." I scowled, "That's because my mind was elsewhere. But now I'm not about to be killed by a giant snake and I have a chance to reclaim what my ancestors left behind." The snake lowered his head to the walkway and said, "Let him go, thief. This is his destiny. I will take you to Calypso, young swordsman."

I flopped onto his head and said, "Thank you." Before gulping in as much air as I could and grabbing a double fistful of scales. We reached the bottom much faster than I remember, and I saw a stone statue of a rather pretty female with a strangely luminescent scimitar in her hands. I released Gizamaluke's head and swam toward the statue, stopping just before touching the blade itself. Something about this was just way too easy. Treasure weapons like this were usually guarded by something, and I was pretty sure Gizamaluke wasn't it. So I grabbed a few potions and held them in my off hand before reaching for the sword. As soon as I touched it, I was yanked somewhere and I could breathe again. As soon as I was given the chance, I chugged the potions and got ready for a fight.

"Come now, child. No need to be so on edge."

I scanned the darkness around me, hand resting on Cerberus's hilt. "In my experience, there's always a need to be on edge." I moved away from where I'd spoken, trying to keep my position secure. Though it wouln't do me much good, since the voice had pretty much told me it could see me. I kept walking, slowing and quickening my pace so they couldn't lead me with any confidence. "Honestly, the youth of this generation. You expect me to attack my own blood?" I spun a 180, looking for the source of the voice, "Why not? My blood abandoned me to the care of a harsh world. I shouldn't expect any better from someone who won't even show themselves." As if that was her cue, an old woman stepped from the shadows. She looked an ageless kind of old, where she stood straight without aid. Her iron gray hair fell in waves about her shoulders and she wore a similar style of clothing as mine. But where mine was forest green, she had chosen sea greens and blues.

"Believe me boy, concealment was not my intention. You learn caution after what I've been through, and there's no telling yet if you've taken on the corruption." She said. I eased my grip on Moloch and took a step to the side. From this angle I could see that she kept Calypso strapped to the back of her belt, with the hilt on her left side. "Scoping out your mark child? Are you a swordsman or a thief?" I glared at the woman and spat, "I'm a survivor, ma'am. And I'll continue to survive until the end of my days, if you don't mind."

She smiled at my apparent anger, "Oh, that's quite alright, son. But maybe you should think about how a man of your talents ought to survive." I sat on the ground, keeping a fair distance from her, "I seem to be doing alright. It's the world that's in a terrible state." Holy crap, that woman can move fast! As soon as I blinked, she was in my face and shoving me back, "Exactly! The world is in trouble and it's you who's doing alright. It's the duty of a Demon Swordsman to keep things from getting this bad! What have you been doing all this time!"

Alright, this is quickly becoming less fun. I kicked her off of me and rolled back, bringing Moloch free and ready, "In case you've forgotten, milady, I'm the only one left. There was nobody around to tell me I was some hero of this world. Nobody to help me master these infernal weapons. Nobody to tell me my grand destiny, No one! My parents left me, my sister died...what else do I have to lose here?" Woah, I think I'm starting to lose it. I'm actually starting to believe my lies. "Oh, woe is thee. How horrible your life must have been, but it changes nothing. This is in your blood. And right now I just don't know if you're ready to take my blade."

"Well that's just too bad," I said, "because one way or another, Calypso's going back with me. And if you got something to say about it, me and Moloch would be happy to address your concerns." I slid Moloch free and stared down my nose at the old biddy. "Why are you so interested in taking my sword, boy?" I smiled as she drew her weapon and swung it a few times to loosen up, "Because I'm headed into the lion's den, and I need more power to walk out of it alive." I stepped in and slapped her sword to the side, which she reacted to by whirling around and striking at my torso. I sidestepped and kept her from opening my stomach, but still got sliced on my side. I kicked her in the knee and backhanded her in the jaw, taking the time to get a little distance. She got back to her feet quickly and scoffed, "Is this the best you can do? I'm not impressed." I smirked and lowered my blade, "I'm supposed to impress you? Well if I'd have known that..." She barely got her weapon up in time to deflect my upward stroke, and predictably enough, brought her arm around for her own slash. But this time I kicked her hand down and headbutted her as hard as I could. The cartilege crunched under my head and blood gushed everywhere.

The two of us really sped up from there, cutting and countering in an increasingly fast-paced flurry. Wounds were closing just as soon as we opened them as we exploited each other's openings. Our duel continued for what felt like years, until the sound of our steel clanging together began to sound damn near musical. With one big push, she shoved me away from her and staggered back. We stood apart for a minute just catching her breath and I said, "Impressed yet, granny?" She smiled, "We'll see how tough you are." I saw the danger coming and took a defensive stance, knowing there probably wasn't jack shit I could do if she was doing what I thought she was gonna do. Sure enough, she drags her blade across her palm and called, "Calypso, Maelstrom!" Out of the darkness above us the rain started coming down in waves. It was falling so hard that it felt like needles of ice digging into my skin, and I knew it didn't stop there. The wind started howling and whirling around us, making the rain pelt into me from new directions.

"You wanna play this game? Let's see how you deal with the Winds of Lust!" I yell. I reopen the wound on my side and push all my strength into the spell, falling to my knees. My own winds hit the wall of her Maelstrom and the difference in temperature caused a whirlwind to form. I watched from the eye as the funnel cloud formed and pulled the waters into itself like a man in the desert who found an oasis. Just in time too, because I could hear the final part of her spell arriving in crashing waves of water. It hit the tornado and got sucked upward, at the same time pushing the twister backward. "Oh no you don't, lady." I snarled, and forced the part of the hurricane under my control to push back towards her. I hauled myself to my feet and followed the eye of the storm on a slow walk toward my opponent. I was tired, and bloody, and wet, and cold, but I would be damned if I'd let her beat me as well. So when she fought back, tried to push me back, I steeled myself and continued on. I felt the strain of moving a hurricane wear on me, but I refused to let myself be stopped this close to finishing this fight.

With one final cry, I 'threw' the storm at her and was lifted up into the air. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me." I screamed. But just like nothing ever happened, I found myself standing on the ground, dry as a bone and unharmed. "What the hell..." I said. "Congratulations, you win." I looked up to see the woman standing perfectly untouched, in the exact same spot as she first appeared. "The hell I did, you're still standing." She smiled, "Of course I am, neither of us has moved. The battle you witnessed was in your mind, just as this place is. I needed only to test your resolve, not your battle prowess. That will come in time." She took Calypso from her belt and tossed it to me, "Take care of her, boy. She's been through some hard times."

I took a moment to look over my new treasure. The coral hilt, the saphire inlays and the sharkskin handle wrappings. The scabbard was also sharkskin and pressed into it were designs that brought thoughts of the ocean to mind. I tied the sword to my belt and looked at the woman who said she was my ancestor, "What's your name, granny?" She smiled and faded back into the darkness, "I am Calypso, boy. The demon of the seas herself." I watched the blackness thicken around me and fell back to wait for the hallucination to wear off. It wasn't too long before I was back in the cave and swimming for my life towards Gizamaluke, who was waiting for me. I latched onto his belly and we rocketed back up for the last time. We broke the surface going so fast that the force of gravity yanking on me nearly tore me off of my ride. But I held on for a few more seconds and pushed off to fall over on the walkway. "And that's the last time I'm going down there." I gasped.

I woke up on a cot back by the front of the grotto. I was sore and naked and very confused. "Where the hell are my weapons?" I asked the cieling. But it, being stone, wouldn't answer me. Instead, Zidane's voice floated in from my right side, "Most people would be more interested in finding their clothes." I rolled of the cot and spotted the three of them sitting around a firepit, looking at me. I ignored the thief's comment and looked for my swords, which were sitting against the wall nearest me. I grabbed them and pulled them from their sheaths, but found them already dried out and oiled. "Who touched my blades?" I asked calmly. I don't know why, but I was more than a little angry that someone had put their hands on my swords without asking me. I saw a stool by the cot with a cup of water and a cup of wine on it and I grabbed for them. I eyed the group as I downed the wine and poured the water over Calypso, washing the oil off. "I did. I felt it would be the best way to thank you for saving Lord Gizamaluke." I nodded to Freya and said, "I appreciate the thought, but Calypso isn't a normal sword. She can't be dried out."

"How do you know?" Vivi asked. "She just told me." I said. "You talk to swords now?" Zidane asked. I looked over at him and grinned, "Is that so strange? But no, I'm talking to the demon sleeping in the sword. The weaker ones like my Moloch don't have conciousnesses of their own. It's just the powerful Demon Lords that the elders made contracts with that still remain aware after being bound." Freya had been fidgeting in her spot for a while, so I looked over at her and asked, "Something wrong, Freya?" She shook her head, "No, it's just...do you think you could put some pants on?" I motioned for Zidane to toss me my clothes and I quickly dressed. After that I secured my weapons and did a little twirl for the group, "Is this better, Freya?" She refused to look directly at me, but muttered a quiet affirmative. I chuckled and we set off out of the grotto. On the way to the city of tears, I started singing.

"Well I, move all directions

to the corners, and the outskirts

while the lovers, and the lonely

start to whisper all about me

if I stand here silent, I almost start to feel you

faaaadiing in.

Cause it's gonna be alright.

Why don't you tell me again,

how you'll still be there when the heartache ends?

Well it's alright,

why don't you tell me my friend,

how you'll still be there when the heartache ends?

Say you'll still be there when the heartache ends."

That ought to tell you how much of a loser I was back home, that I know all the words to a Rob Thomas song. But I like it, so bite me. "Hey, that's pretty good. Where'd you hear that?" I looked over to Zidane, "I don't remember. Hell, I don't remember where a lot of the music I know comes from. But it's cool." The city was starting to come into view, and I could see that Vivi and Freya were feeling tense. "Hey," I said, "you guys gonna be alright when we get there?" Vivi nodded, but I could see the nerves eating at him. Freya might have been a little better at keeping it from her face, but she was holding herself too stiffly to be alright. I wasn't going to let them get my mood down, though, so I decided to sing something else that might help them. I took a deep breath and broke into Disturbed's "Indestructible". It was a good time, and I was really getting into it when we finally reached the gates.

"So," Zidane said, "this is Freya's home..." I glanced around, "Kinda damp. A weird place for a furred race to live." Freya was too distracted to hear us, though, "It's been five years." She said. "I've been away for so long. Not a night went by when I didn't dream about home. I can't believe I'm here..." I leaned against the gate and looked at the kneeling Burmecian, "People change in five years, Freya. You left for a reason, and it made you who you are now. The woman who can better protect what's precious to her." Freya looked up at me and grinned, "You're right, Vin. I'm no longer the selfish child I was five years ago. The time has come to serve my kingdom as a Burmecian Dragon Knight once again!" The others yelled their support, and I just nodded my agreement. Then we turned and made our way into the realm of eternal rain.

The place was wrecked. Dead soldiers lay everywhere and monsters had invaded in the aftermath. We found ourselves face to face with Zorn and Thorn, who of course were surprised to see us alive. In the spirit of weirdness, I looked straight at Thorn and said, "Make you pay, we will. Many sins, you've committed." They didn't like that and they called the Black Mages on us. I split one's head as it fell and snatched it's hat out of the air. Zidane and Freya made quick work of the other one and Zorn came walking back to threaten us, "The general will punish you for this!" Thorn followed his clone and said, "Yes! Very scary, it is, when the general gets mad!" I tipped my new hat back and looked straight at the pair when I said, "You think the general's scary? Then what about the man who scares her?"

The two of them paled even further before turning and fleeing back into the house. We gave chase, dispatching any monsters who got in our way. Zidane, unfortunately, had to keep opening the treasure boxes on the way and triggered the mimics. And of course they in turn summoned the magic vices and such to impede us. But even with his antics we managed tomake good time. The roundabout path we had to take took us by a great many bodies, a number of them civilian women. Now I've got nothing against women fighting, but if they choose not to then by God they should be left in peace. By the time we got to the room where the bell was hidden I was seething with rage and ready to kill Kuja for making this happen. But I would have to wait until he made his appearance to do anything about him, so I followed along in the back of the group and raged.

But we took the bell and headed for the gate, each of us too angry, sad, or thoughtful to say much. On the stairs, Freya stopped, "Zidane. Burmecia's royal palace is beyond these steps. It must be in ruins, just like everything else. I can't bear to see it like that..." Zidane said, "I understand, but we can't go back now. We have to find out who's behind this." I stepped up and clapped her shoulder, "Besides, we need to find out what happened to the king. For all we know, he and some survivors might be holed up in there looking to be rescued. We need you to be strong, Freya."

"...I wanna find out who those guys were...and why I look like them." Zidane pointed to the little black mage and said, "Look, Vivi's scared, too. But we have to face reality." Vivi came forward and tugged on her hand, "Come on, Freya. It'll be okay..." She looked down at the boy, "Vivi... Do you really know what you're doing? The answer you seek may forever change your life for the worse." I cut in, "Of course, but that's the nature of change. Everything has the chance to do lasting damage, but if you never look for answers, you'll live your whole life asking the question." Vivi looked up at her and said, "I'm scared...What if I'm not even human...?"

Right then, a Burmecian soldier and his family came running down the stairs. When he spotted us, he reached for his weapon, "Are you in league with the black mages!" "No!" Zidane cried. Dan looked over at Vivi and said, "You're lying! There's a black mage right behind you!" I almost had Calypso free from her sheath before Vivi ran in front of me, "No! I didn't do anything! I would never hurt anyone!" But the man wouldn't listen. It wasn't until Freya spoke up, "He's telling the truth!" The tension completely left the man, looking at her in shock, "...Freya!" They exchanged pleasantries and Dan ran for the entrance. Of course he came running back to see why we weren't running with our tail between our legs and I let them talk. I headed up to the top of the stairs to see what I could see.

I heard the statue rumbling in a room ahead and remembered Kal and Wei. It looked like the guys were gonna be too late if I waited on them, so I ran inside and shoved Wei back as I grabbed Kal's arm. I hauled him back and a chunk of stone smashed me in the side of the head. As I lay reeling from the impact, I could hear blurred voices yelling something around me. I couldn't really understand them, and my vision was really cloudy, but I thought that red patch was Freya, so I was pretty sure they had finally caught up. "Wha took you guys slong?" I asked. They said something else in that weird Charlie Brown kinda voice until Grey came and carried Kal away. Wei stopped on the way out and looked back at me, and I tried my best to smile at her, "Get outta hur, snot safe." She left and I lay back to watch the world spin.

A few minutes later, everything was back in place and I stood up, "Damn, that hurt." They just shook their heads at me and we headed off. On the way in, Zidane and Freya dug in the storerooms for equipment, and Freya grabbed a new spear. I went with Vivi into the other and I bought some supplies while Vivi found the Thunder Staff. We rested a while to get our strength back, and headed into the castle proper. Freya and Zidane scaled the statue by the door to get in, but I wasn't trying to be subtle. I motioned Vivi to stand back a little and kicked the doors open. I then pulled the brim of my slightly crushed hat down low and walked calmy inside. Vivi followed close behind me as we strode up the steps to the throne area where Queen Brahne and Beatrix was waiting. Before they noticed us, I stopped and said, "Hey Vivi, can you do me a favor?"

The kid looked up at me and said, "What is it, Vin?" I pointed over to the women and said, "I'm gonna go talk to them to see what's going on. They don't know who I am, and they don't know there's a real black mage walking around. So can I ask you to follow me and act like the other ones so I can trick them?" Vivi seemed uncomfortable with it, but he nodded silently and I strode forth. "Why Beatrix, you look as lovely as ever!" Her sword was once again at my throat before she had completely turned. "Who are you?" I placed my hand over my heart, "Why, that's horrible. Don't tell me that you've forgotten me already!" I leaned forward and let her sword cut a little ways into my skin, "Not after our last parting."

Recognition came into her eye and Queen Brahne hrumphed, "So our visitor from the play has come once again. Here to deliver another warning?" I chuckled, "Unfortunately your majesty, I'm all out of cryptic predictions for today. But I would like to speak to your lady knight for a moment." Her blade never wavered from my throat as she glared at me, "Speak." I motioned behind me and said, "What is it you see over there?" She leaned a little so she could see behind me without looking away and said, "It's a Black Mage, so what?" I made a sound of impatience and said, "Yes, a Black Mage, but look closer. The design is different from those mass produced soldiers or even the specialized Black Waltzes. And if you give it an order you'll see it won't obey. But surely only one man knows how to manufacture a Black Mage, so what explanation could there be?"

I saw the knight working her way through it remarkably fast. If Kuja was the only one who knew how to make Black Mages, then he must've given me mine. But if he was supplying me with them, who else was he giving weapons to? "This man Kuja is using Brahne, Beatrix. He plans to destroy Alexandria after he's used her to wipe out any who would stand against him. You must see that what she's doing isn't right. Innocent women and children dead in the street? How can this be the honorable thing to do?" Her shame wasn't visible on her face, but there was no doubt in my mind she'd had these thoughts already. "A knight's duty isn't only to obey, Beatrix, but to know when a ruler must be shown the error of her ways. For the good of Alexandria." She tried to peer under my hat, and the pressure of her weapon at my throat lessened. "Who are you?" She asked.

Just then, Kuja approached. I made as if I knew the man and said, "Kuja, I must say you do know how to make an entrance, don't you?" He glanced over at me and said, "Do I know you?" I readjusted my hat to the cut from the falling stone was in front of my eye, "Just an old customer complimenting the quality of your goods. How's Garland?" I saw his guard shatter at mention of his creator's name, and his shock quickly became a rage that twisted his face, "Don't ever mention that name to me! How do you know the old man!" I looked the man straight in the eye and said, "I know everything, reject."

He went into a frenzy and lashed out at me with a flare spell that I quickly ducked under. He fired another one and I spun back away from Beatrix's blade and the incoming magic. "Vivi!" I said, "Get the guys and head for Cleyra! I'll do what I can here." Vivi said, "We can't leave you here!" I grabbed the boy and threw him at an approaching Burmecian, "Take him to Cleyra, now! Keep him safe, Burmecian!" He took off and I saw Zidane and Freya chasing after him. Good, this was working out alright. "I won't let you destroy Alexandria, you monster!" I charged at Kuja and watched as he levitated over my attack. I kept up my charge, letting Beatrix see my 'patriotism' and think until she made some kind of decision. Luckily for me, she wasn't moving very far just then, so I had time to reveal more of his plan.

"Go ahead and tell them, reject. Tell them why you told Queen Brahne about extracting the Eidolons. Tell them how you plan to take control of them once you don't need Brahne anymore!" He was enraged now, "How do you know so much? Nobody should know my plans!" I heard the elephant woman gasp at his confirmation of my accusations, and I knew I had won this round. "Because, fool. I am Gaia's guardian! It's my job to keep Terrans like you from interfering in this world! I AM A DEMON SWORDSMAN!" I jammed Calypso into my stomach and blood shot out of my mouth, "CALYPSO! MAELSTROM!" I yelled, and laughed as the already heavy rain became a deluge. There was no way his silver dragon was coming to get him before I landed a hit.

The storm raged in all it's glory and I laughed my triumph as I staggered back to Beatrix and Brahne. I placed my hand on Beatrix's arm and a bloody handprint stuck to her armor. Just as soon as I made contact, the wind stopped pulling at her and she looked at me with a combination of fear and awe in her gaze. I just smiled and grunted, "Get me to the queen, hurry." She leaned against me and threw my arm over her shoulder, pulling me toward the queen. She was too heavy to be lifted into the air very far, but she was being buffeted all across the chamber, falling ass over teakettle across the floor. We finally caught her and I slapped a handprint on her as well, with that I slumped to the ground and focused on pushing all my power into the Maelstrom.

I watched as waves of water came crashing down around Kuja and force him to his knees. The water forcing it's way over his head made it hard for him to breathe and I could see that he was starting to regain his senses. That was bad, because I knew that he wouldn't be killed by a little rainstorm like this. And sure enough, he let out a burst of energy that pushed everything back away from him. The magical backlash cut a spot in the clouds overhead that allowed his dragon to swoop in and he mounted quickly. As he took off, he shouted down at me, "I will have my vengance, boy!" And he left. I chuckled and said, "You might not get the chance, Kuja."

I woke up some time later in a room that smelled of sickness and blood. That gave me the options of hospital and dungeon. I hoped to god I wasn't in the dungeon because I couldn't even find the strength to sit up and look for myself. That meant I wouldn't be able to fight back if someone started something. Come to think of it, hospital probably wasn't that good either, since the only people who could've taken me were Alexandrians. I croaked and realized that I was REALLY FREAKIN THIRSTY, so I flopped my head to the side in an epic show of wussitude and was overjoyed to see a large goblet sitting on the table by my bed. I tried to reach for it, but as I said before I was too weak to move that far. So I sat there attempting to move it with the Force until a doctor came into the room and saw me awake. "Oh good, so you're going to live after all." I never took my eyes from the goblet as I croaked an affirmative, and the overly intelligent doctor understood. He helped me sit back on the bed and even held the cup as I sipped from it.

Once I had a little water, I felt more or less human again and said, "Okay, I need my pants and my weapons. Come on, I wanna be out of here by sundown." The doctor looked surprised that I could be in such a hurry and quickly stammered, "J-just wait a minute! We can't let you leave, you're still injured." I rolled out of bed and kind of swayed before finding by balance, "Self-inflicted doc, so it's not as big a deal as you think. Now, pants and swords, please." I was getting really tired of listening to this man act like such a damn doctor, so I went back over to the table and picked up the goblet of water. I drained the glass and looked him in the eye, "Sir, you have two options. You can find my possessions and let me leave here quietly, or I can bludgeon you to death with this cup, go looking for my stuff while killing anyone I pass, and then leaving as I piss in the wounds of every sick person in this hospital. Your move."

I gave the man respect points for immediately turning and leaving. I sat back on the bed and waited for my stuff to get back to me. But instead of the doctor carrying my stuff, it was Beatrix. I glared at the surgeon who was cowering behind her and said, "You little weasel." The woman dumped my stuff on my lap and said, "It's pointless being angry with him, I gave him specific orders to alert me when you woke up." I slid into my pants and buckled Calypso back on before looking at her, "And just why would you waste your time on lowly old me, General Beatrix?"

"We have reason to believe you have information about a plot to take over Alexandria. I-" I interrupted her, "No General, not take over. Kuja has no interest in ruling over this kingdom. He intends to wipe it off of the map. Using your own legendary weapon." I was having a little trouble lifting my left arm, so it was taking me a while to get my shirt over my head. Someone had replaced my green one with a similar cut copy in grey. "What do you mean?" Beatrix asked. " I sat down to get my boots on my feet and found myself winded, "I mean he's going to wait for Queen Brahne to order Zorn and Thorn to extract the Eidolons from Garnet. From there she will summon them to destroy the countries that you've been told are hostile towards Alexandria. She will go mad with power and demand more.

When she does, he'll tell her about four magic jewels that, when combined, call forth the holy judge Alexander. When the jewels are brought together, he will instigate an attack that forces her to summon Alexander and he will assume control over it. How he planned to do it, I'm not sure, but he seemed confident that he could. He would then have enough power to achieve his ultimate goal."

Beatrix was stunned, "And what would that be?" I shrugged as I was buckling Moloch back on, "Hell if I know. I wasn't really that interested in him when I learned all of this." She was staring at me as I combed my hair back before tying my bandana, "You hear about a conspiracy to destroy a kingdom and you're 'not interested'?" I saw that somebody had repaired my hat and chuckled before placing it on my head, "That's right. I was more interested in the man by the door who raped and murdered my sister. I had tracked him to the auction house in Treno where Kuja happened to be hiding out at the time and I overheard his plan while waiting for my chance to kill my mark. That was the whole reason I had learned swordsmanship in the first place, or so I believed. Turns out there may have been some greater workings involved in it."

"So that's how you learned of all this...I am sorry to hear about your sister." She said. I stood and said, "It's been dealt with and I've laid her to rest. She won't suffer anymore. It's the living who need help now. So I ask you again, Beatrix of Alexandria. Will you let your country fall into disgrace on the whim of some madman? A madman who uses your own queen as a pawn in his sick game of nations?" We stood in silence as the holy knight pondered my question. My stomach growled, but I just waited as she ran through her options. Finally, she said, "I have been noticing that Queen Brahne has been acting strangely. And you haven't led us astray as far as I know. I'll believe you for now, but until further notice, you will stay close to me."

Perfect.

"Alright then," I said, "then we need to head for the mess hall first, I'm starving." The doctor piped up, "That's because you opened your stomach with that strike, you fool! You almost died when the acid started eating you!" I glared at the man and took a menacing step forward, "I hate doctors. Don't make me hate you personally." He squeaked and decided to go check on his other patients right then. So the two of us headed for the mess hall and I got the cook to pile my plate high with as much food as I could get. She sat across from me while I ate every bite with a hunger I had never before felt. Once the mountain of food was gone, I felt much better and looked over at my jailer/companion, "So what now? I'm obviously not going to be allowed to roam the castle unattended, and you have duties as the general of Alexandria's army. You can't post guards on me because I could easily escape them and go on my way, and you won't lock me up because I'm aiding in the defence of this nation. Where do we go from here?"

She blinked, "As I said, you will stay by my side until I decide what to do with you. Your knowledge of the man Kuja is an invaluable asset." I grinned, "But what about my duties?" She smiled mockingly, "You mean as the protecter of Gaia?" The cook came and took my dishes as I leaned forward, "Don't knock it. Demon Swordsmen have been responsible for the protection of all the people of Gaia for hundreds of years. Just like the ancient Summoner Tribe, we were tasked with keeping all the people of Gaia on the road to prosperity and happiness."

"Protection from what?" She asked. "In Treno there's a man named Doctor Tot, who's discovered an unkown planet nearby. But in fact the Summoners and Demon Swordsmen knew about Terra for many centuries. From time to time we find that our services are required to repel invaders from Terra who would destroy this world's inhabitants." I stretched a little, feeling the wound on my stomach twinge a little, "Damn I need to loosen up a little." Beatrix stood, "Well, that I know how to deal with. I need to inspect the troops this morning anyway. Come." So I followed her to the training grounds where a massive group of women were practicing formations and swordplay. As Beatrix made her rounds through the complex, I found a corner nobody was using and wiggled out of my shirt. I withdrew Moloch from his sheath and slowly began moving. I moved in a pattern of blocks, parries, and strikes that I had taken as second nature since coming to Gaia, and slowly picked up speed every so often. I felt my muscles begin to loosen and I turned quickly to the left, lashing out with Moloch and returning to my starting point.

I began dueling with two imaginary opponents, closing my eyes to let my body guide me. I spun, parried, dodged, and rolled, enjoying the feeling of power in my arms that I had earned in hard battle. I added another enemy and soon I was turning in a tight circle, fighting as if my life depended on it. I felt something at my back after I brought Moloch down for an overhead swing and knew I couldn't get him back up in time. So I released him and slid to the side as I drew Calypso. I turned Beatrix's sword and kicked at her ankle. She stepped back and I picked Moloch up off the ground. With Calypso resting back in her sheath I closed and began a series of strikes to test Beatrix's weak guard points. As expected, she had none and she quickly countered after I had finished my combo. I moved into the defensive and we quickly fell into a rythm of strike, parry, and counter.

We weren't just using our blades, either. We were constantly throwing elbows and knees at each other. I was doing my best just to keep up with her, but I could see that she was having a bit of a workout herself. So I kept up with it and started turning us in a small circle. She tried to press the offensive, but I turned her attacks wide and let counters go so she'd stay focused on attacking me. Sure enough, she went for a lunge and stepped in a small rut made when someone drug a practice dummy across the ground. It wasn't much, but it made her stumble enough to leave an opening where I could place Moloch against her throat. As the tip of the blade touched her skin, I heard a collective gasp all around and I finally noticed that our session had been watched. I turned and saw every woman on the grounds had been watching our fight, and I was standing here soaked in sweat with my shirt off. I quickly snatched it up and stuffed it over my head while Beatrix collected herself.

"You're injured, and still you bested me." She said. "It was a lucky shot," I mumbled through the fabric, "one in a million chance." "No," she said, "you maneuvered me into falling because I was arrogant. I've allowed my pride to dull my skills. Thank you for showing me that." And with that, we moved through the crowd back towards the castle. As we reached the middle of the group, someone grabbed my ass and I yelped loundly. Beatrix instantly whipped around and saw me close by her with my eyes darting side to side, "What?" I leaned back a little and whispered, "Someone grabbed me, and I'm severely outnumbered." A giggle went up from the crowd and I flinched. Behind me I heard, "Don't tell me the ancient protector of Gaia is afraid of a few women."

"No, the newly appointed member of the ancient protectors is afraid of an horde of armed women who might feel offended if I say the wrong thing. One bad move, and I have to wipe out the army to stay safe." She chuckled and patted me on the back, "Let's not do that, shall we? Come on." I followed her closely while we headed back inside and down a maze of corridors to the war room. A map on the wall showed me that they could easily field enough troops to win this war without the Eidolons, and it was probably a good thing that I was here before Garnet made it back to the castle. It seemed like they were sending a new supply train to the soldiers in Burmecia while they decided whether or not to attack Cleyra. "You haven't pulled your troops back from Burmecian territory." I stated.

"The queen has stated her intention of continuing the assault on Cleyra until the Burmecian king is captured." I looked over my shoulder, "And what if I told you her target wasn't the king at all?" She looked confused, so I said, "What if I told you her real goal was a jewel resting atop a harp at the very top of Cleyra? One of the four jewels needed to summon Alexander." She shook her head, "I still have trouble believing that she would do what you describe." I turned and gave the holy knight a look, "Really? Well I'll prove it then. In the next few hours the princess and Steiner will be returning alone and of their own free will. Watch how the queen reacts."

Beatrix seemed skeptical, but nodded and sat at her desk to work on her paperwork. I found another chair off to the side and lounged. After a while she asked, "How do you know the princess will return?" I looked up at her, "Because she left in this direction before me. She took the cablecars to Treno, and now she should be on the Gargan Roo under the city which will bring her to the underground station below the castle. It's the quickest way here that will keep her out of the public eye." Her eyebrow arched, "You are remarkably perceptive." I flashed her a smile, "You don't survive in the brigand infested streets of Treno without learning to read people and their intentions at a glance."

"So you are from Treno?" She asked. I shifted in my seat so I could see her better, "Yes, I was. My mother died giving birth to me, so I was raised by my sister. She said our father died after going to get back something that our ancestors lost. We grew up without anyone to depend on but ourselves. We stole to eat, and huddled in alleys to stay warm in the winter. If we ran across the guards, they beat us 'on suspicion' and left us in bleeding heaps in the street, so we learned not to be noticed. As we grew up one guard in particular grew to enjoy tormenting us, and eventually raped and killed my sister. I stole a sword from the back room of a weapon shop and trained with it until I was sure I could kill him. You know the rest."

She looked at me with an unreadable expression, and I began to wonder if she believed me. I guess she accepted it because she said, "Surely it wasn't as bad as all that." I pushed my hat back, "Do people normally make up lies like that in your experience? If you don't believe me there's a woman in Lindblum named Lilian who knows me from back then. She'll tell you." Just then, a soldier came in and saluted Beatrix, "Ma'am, a report just came in of Princess Garnet being sighted in the castle. She was in the company of Zorn and Thorn." Beatrix looked sharply at me and I slowly rose from my chair and stretched, "It's your move, general. Now what?"

She turned back to the soldier and asked, "Where were they headed?" The soldier replied, "The group was last seen heading for the princess' chambers." "You," she pointed to me, "follow me." As we once again set off through the labyrinth, I said, "My name is Vin, general. Vintistika Thiess." "Vin then, be quick! We must hurry." I caught up to her pace and said, "Or we can get ahead of them. They're most likely taking her to meet with Queen Brahne in her sitting room. We'll go there." Without question, she turned us in that direction and we took off running.

Unfortunately, we weren't quite quick enough, and we caught Zorn and Thorn dragging Garnet through the secret passage to the extraction room. "What!" Beatrix studied the entrance while I pointed to the nearby chair, "Who else in the kingdom leaves an ass-print that big? Your queen was here recently enough to watch them subdue and move her." She silently studied me over her shoulder, then said, "It seems you were telling me the truth the whole time. The queen's vision has been clouded by a lust for power. Somehow I must stop her." I stepped past her into the passage, "Later. For now we rescue Garnet."

We headed down into the lower reaches of the castle and watched as the last of the ceremony was completed. "Damn," I said, "we took too long. We need to keep them from giving the jewels to Brahne." And with that, we drew our weapons and approached the jesters. "Oi, dumb and dumber!" I called, getting their attention. As they turned to us, we leapt and slashed at each of them, Beatrix scoring a cut on Thorn's face and I slashing Zorn's stomach. The pair flipped over our heads into a larger space and said, "What do you think you're doing?" "Very angry, Queen Brahne will be!" I lifted my sword and said, "Silence, worms! We'll be taking those jewels back." Beatrix let fly with a Shock attack as I closed on the clowns. I knocked one into the attack and fell on the other to pin him to the ground. I hit him with the pommel of my sword and began digging in his clothes for the jewels. I managed to grab three before I was hit in the back with something hot. I turned and saw the little red clown laughing at me as Beatrix brought her sword down on the fool's head.

She quickly retrieved the stones from his clothes and we went to check on Garnet. "Princess!" Beatrix called. "It's no use, the clowns cast a sleep spell on her. Maybe your holy magic can reverse it." She nodded and quickly set about focusing for the spell. Just like in the game, it took three tries before the counterspell took. But Garnet stirred and woke up just like nothing had happened. "...Ohh, my head...What happened?" she asked. I pointed over to where Zorn and Thorn lay unconcious, "The clown twins knocked you out and removed the Eidolons from where they were sleeping inside you. They were sealed into these jewels, so keep them safe." Beatrix and I handed her the stones and she tucked them away. As soon as she could walk, we headed back to the queen's sitting room to get the hell out of here. We sealed the entrance back to give us a little time, and turned to find Queen Brahne waiting for us. "I see Zorn and Thorn failed to contain you, my dear Garnet."

"That's not all," I said, stepping in front of the women, "we took the jewels back from them, so you won't get any extra power for your mad campaign." Beatrix stepped around me and said, "Your Majesty..." Brahne saw her and said, "Ah, Beatrix. Confiscate the jewels from Princess Garnet and throw the two of them in prison." "WHAT!" Garnet and Beatrix both exclaimed. I shook my head to clear the ringing and said, "You heard her, Garnet has outlived her usefullness. Now the whore queen is going to toss her aside and continue the path of the conquerer."

"Whore'? How dare you! Beatrix, kill this man!" Oh, the queen was good and mad now. Beatrix seemed conflicted, "Your Majesty, it is my duty to protect the princess. I beg you, reconsider. Please do not harm the princess anymore." Apparently there was a hidden lever or something that we didn't see on the way down, because Zorn and Thorn picked that second to come back up. "Ah, you two." Brahne said, "Get rid of these cretins." They whistled, and the doglike Bandersnatch came bounding into the room. "Bandersnatch," they yelled, "bite their heads off!" Beatrix and I quickly killed that one, and I shoved Garnet back into the tunnel, "Down! We're going down, take the Gargan Roo!" She took off downstairs and I called to Beatrix, "Follow her! I'll cover our retreat." She hauled ass behind Garnet and I followed a little ways behind, careful to watch for any pursuers. We made it halfway down before I saw Black Mages waiting to ambush the girls a little ways down. I leaped off the stairs and across the gap to cleave two of the mages' heads in two before the third could turn, and I decapitated him.

The girls caught up and I motioned them past before another bandersnatch fell on us. This one Beatrix hit with a shock and if it was alive after the attack, the plummet to the bottom of the complex should kill it. And that's how we made it to the bottom and into the Gargan station. I quickly hit a switch to raise the gate behind us and we made a beeline for the gargant. Luck was with us as it was passing by just as we got there and I stuffed Garnet under one arm and yelled, "Jump!" We leapt for the gargant and landed squarely in the basket.

Once we caught our breath, I started laughing hysterically and looking over the lip of the basket seeing if we were being pursued. "Wow!" I laughed, "That was one hell of an escape!" Garnet looked at me like I was crazy, "Why are you laughing?" she asked. "Leave him be, your highness," Beatrix said, "it's an adrenaline reaction. He laughs from an excess of energy, not because he finds anything humorous." I pointed at Beatrix in agreement and breathed deeply to calm my nerves before we had to take on the Ralvuimago. It wasn't hard, but I still didn't want to be too jumpy for it. Right on cue, the green worm shows up and I slap my palm down on Moloch's blade. The demon dog Cerberus bounds out of the darkness and gives the monster a good mauling and it slithers into it's hole.

"Guess I didn't need to calm down after all." I muttered, and sat back to enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, I forgot about the part where the damn thing starts chasing us. The gargant starts really moving and I calmly look over to Beatrix, could you fall at this speed and still get up to fight?" I ask her. She shakes her head and I nod, "Then it looks like we're headed for pinnacle rocks. Enjoy the ride, ladies, because the end is gonna suck."

And just as expected, the bug hits the exit hard enough to send the whole carriage off it's harness and crashing into the ground. It tosses me into the air and I land hard on a rock, but thankfully Moloch keeps my back from snapping. I slowly got to my feet and went to check on the girls. I found Garnet nestled safely in the carriage, and Beatrix knocked out a little farther away.

"Dammit all, this just isn't good luck." I said, and gently picked her up. She was surprisingly light, with almost a dancer's physique. It took little effort to arrange her comfortably by the carriage, and I went off to gather firewood. I returned with an armload and they still hadn't woken up, so I arranged the wood for a fire and snuggled up close to Beatrix. They slept until dark and I lit the fire before removing my shirt and rolling it up for a pillow. I slipped it under the knight's head and a cushion from the carriage under Garnet. Then I settled down for a long and boring watch. I absently pulled Calypso from her sheath and began running my fingers over the engravings. "I wonder," I said to myself, "Calypso, are you still awake in there?" I felt a thrum of power from the blade. "I thought so. Are Demons anything like Eidolons?" A weaker thrum, which I took to mean 'kind of'.

"Damn, we're not going to get much of a meaningful conversation going if you can only hum in answer." I guess that didn't even merit an answer, because she just fell silent, and I slid her back in her sheath. I sat quietly until sunrise, then Beatrix woke up like nothing had happened. She just hopped up and took a quick look around before walking over to the rock where I sat, "Good morning." I smiled wearily at her, "Morning, beautiful." She smiled and asked, "Did you keep watch all night?" I shrugged and slid off my seat to grab my shirt from the ground, "It's rude to wake a sleeping lady." I pushed my clothing back on and checked on Garnet again. Still dead asleep. Hell, if she didn't snore, I'd think she was dead.

"Here," I said, tossing her a pouch from my belt. "What is it?" She asked. "Zanghol meat and biscuits. It's not much, but I couldn't go hunting without leaving you two alone." She nodded, "Thank you." She ate in silence while I worked the kinks out of my muscles. Just as she finished the last of the food, my stomach growled and she looked up at me. "You didn't eat any of this yet?" she asked. I just waved it off, "I'm used to missing meals, I figured you and Garnet would need it more." She seemed to just remember Garnet and I chuckled. "But since you finished ALL of it," I joked, "I better go find something for our sleeping princess." She blushed a little and I sauntered off into the forest. I didn't think Garnet would find bat too tasty, so I swatted them down and kept looking. It took me a while, but I finally found another Zanghol. This one was actually rather simple to kill, since it hadn't been bred specifically for the Festival, and I just ducked when it tried to gore me and cut it's throat.

Once it bled out, I carved a large roast off of it and headed back to camp. Once there I chopped off smaller bits that would cook faster and skewered them. I secured the skewer so it would hold the meat over the flame and waited for the smell to wake our last companion. Before long the smell of cooked meat had spread through the campsite and Garnet came tottering over to investigate. "Morning, Dagger. Or are you Garnet again?" I asked her. She sat down and I passed her the skewer, "Careful, it's hot."

She blew on the meat and yawned, "It looks like I still need the Dagger persona for the time being. Thank you for rescuing me, Vin. But where are Zidane and the others?" I began tossing uncooked pieces of the roast into the surrounding trees, "I sent your boyfriend and the others to Cleyra. The Burmecians bolted there after Alexandria destroyed their home, so I figured it was a good place to hide out for a while." She took a small bite of one of the pig nuggets, "I don't understand. If the others are in Cleyra, why are you here?" I filed away the fact that she didn't protest Zidane being her boyfriend and continued, "I was unable to go anywhere after my encounter with Kuja, the man who showed up on your birthday last year. He's been manipulating your mother into starting this war, and he's got powerful magic on his side. I nearly died fighting him off, and Beatrix brought me back to Alexandria for questioning."

"How did you know I met him on my birthday?" she asked. How does she keep missing the important parts? "Because around that time I was hiding in his base eavesdropping. Don't we need to be heading out soon?" Beatrix put her hand on my shoulder, "Calm, Vin." I nodded and she released me, "But he is right, your highness. We need to leave here as soon as we can." She mumbled an assent from around her food and stood to follow. We made it out of pinnacle rocks and stood looking out over Lindblum. "Well, maybe Cid will have idea of what to do from OH CRAP, WE FORGOT TO RESCUE STEINER!" I yelled. I looked back to the ladies and their eyes were just as wide as mine. "What do we do?" Dagger asked. "We can't turn around right now," I said, "I just hope he had the sense to leave with Marcus when he couldn't find you. If he did then that means he'll be in Treno until we can go collect him." Dagger didn't seem happy with the decision, but she aquiesced without a fuss.

"Okay, let's head out before we lose any more daylight." We departed pinnacle rocks and headed for Lindblum. Once there, we stopped in at the weapon shop to get Dagger better equipment, and I bought some greaves and gauntlets. We equipped our purchases and made for the castle. Dagger got us in without incident, and we waited silently for regent Cid to show up. Once the oglop found his way down, Dagger started, "Uncle Cid, I'm afraid I was unsuccessful in convincing my mother to end the war." "gwok I was afraid that would be the case. It would seem Queen Brahne has fallen prey to her own greed."

"She isn't our biggest problem right now," I said. Dagger and Cid looked puzzled, so I explained, "The Burmecian king and Zidane's group made it to Cleyra before it was too late. They can figure something out about slowing the Alexandrians down. Not to mention having their famed general turn 'traitor' will be a big hit to morale. Our main concern should be Kuja."

"Ah yes, gwok Brahne's new weapons dealer. Word is he came from the north on the back of a silver dragon." Beatrix looked over at me, "The Outer Continent?" I shrugged, "It makes a certain sense. We would've heard about someone developing biological weapons before now if he'd done it here on the Mist Continent." Dagger cut in, "Excuse me but, the Outer Continent?"

"There's quite a few landmasses that haven't been explored as yet. Airships can't make their way there because Mist only exists on this continent, and a ship would run out of supplies before reaching port." I said, "But I think our regent here knows of a more discreet route." The group turned toward the oglop and he said, "gwok Indeed. I've heard tell of an old excavation site where strange monsters have been sighted. It's in a marsh just a ways south of here." Damn, I hate Qus. I wonder if I could find my way to the excavation site without Quina. I was certainly going to try, at least. "Then I suppose that's where we're headed, if nobody has any objections." There were none, and we left to prepare for our journey to the Outer Continent.

"Vin," Dagger said, "could I talk to you?" Umm, "Sure. What is it?" I noticed that Beatrix kept her distance from the two of us. "You said you sent Zidane to Cleyra. Why?" I cocked an eyebrow, "Freya had to find the Burmecian king, who had left for Cleyra. Beatrix would've killed them if the guys tried to fight her, and the Burmecians and Cleyrans will need his help to hold the Alexandrians back." She seemed a little sick, "I...see. You certainly thought this through."

"Honestly I didn't think of any of this at the time. These are just reasons I came up with after the fact. In all honesty I just thought Beatrix would want to know the country she loved was being led astray." I said. "Why are you so interested in Alexandria's safety? I would've thought with the way you spoke at first that you wouldn't care one way or the other." I glanced back at Beatrix and said, "It's strange really, but I find myself more and more concerned with a certain person." Dagger followed my gaze and her eyes widened before darting back to me. The knight caught us looking at her and I smiled and waved at her before speaking to Dagger again, "You will say nothing of this. Understand?" She nodded quickly and I beckoned Beatrix back over to us.

We spent the rest of the day gathering supplies and spent the night at the Business district inn. The ladies retired early, and I crawled out of my window to relax on the roof a while. Back in the real world I used to love spending the night out under the starlit sky, and I hadn't really taken the time to enjoy it since I came to gaia. I unbuckled Moloch and Calypso and set them within easy reach, then stretched out on the roof tiles to stare up at the stars. It was a little weird, looking at stars where you don't recognize the constellations, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

I had almost drifted off when I heard low voices speaking. "Beatrix, why aren't you aleep?" I heard Beatrix a little more clearly, I suppose closer to their window, "Oh, I'm sorry your highness. Did I wake you?" "Not at all," Dagger said, "just not very tired." "I suppose not, after the nap you had at Pinnacle rocks." Beatrix said. "Why Beatrix, was that a joke I just heard?" I almost laughed at the surprise in Dagger's voice. "...Your highness, you traveled with Vin for a while, yes?" What was this now? Was I on some lovely lady's mind? "Vin? Yes, I suppose I did. He's a kind enough man, if a little gruff. He's surprisingly kind with children, but terrifying when someone harms his friends."

What a kind evaluation, Dagger, thank you. "But I'm afraid there's some part of him that's suffering." Ooh, here we go. "For all he seems confident during the day, when he sleeps he's tormented. There were times I woke up with him clinging to me in his sleep, calling for his mother." I'd heard enough for one night, so I gathered my weapons and slid back to my room. I slept propped up against the wall and I had a big smile on my face. I woke the next morning before them and crept downstairs and outside to find food and enjoy some time alone.

On a lark, I decided to go check on Lilian. As I came through the door, there was a blur of motion and a painful impact on my left side. I honestly thought I was being attacked, so I yelped and squirmed free. What I found instead was an elated Lilian grinning like the Cheshire cat. "You devious bastard!" She squealed, hugging me again. I was really confused now, "What?" She stepped back and put her hands on her hips, "After you sent that horrible note, I was sure I'd never see you again. But here you are, the missing Master Hunter returned! It's like a Fairy Tale." That was exactly why I'd done it, actually. Figured it would make for a more interesting situation.

"Honestly I hadn't expected to come back. But some unusual circumstances made it necessary. I just stopped by to eat and see how you were doing." I said. "Oh, of course. You're probably starving. Jack, cook up everything on the menu, we got a special guest!" I looked back to see a new bartender and cook behind the counter, who ran off to start the order. "What happened to the other guy?" I asked. "I let him go after I bought the restaurant. That's right, this whole place is mine now!" She said with a huge smile. "Well that's great, Lilly. You finally got out of the slums for good." I said.

"Just like you promised."

Woah, I did? Guess it's part of my mysterious backstory. Lucky how everything I do seems to play into it, or maybe it's not luck...Anywho, the new guy Jack brought the food and I chowed down. Halfway through I noticed Dagger walking through the door and looking around. Since I just assumed she was looking for me, I flagged her down with the animal leg in my hand. She looked caught between amusement and disgust as she approached, "You're really going to eat all of this?" She asked. "Yeah," I said, "why?" She almost said something, but chose instead to change the subject, "Beatrix and I are ready to leave whenever you are. She's waiting at the lift, and I'm on my way to meet her."

I popped a few more pieces of bread into my mouth and dumped a pouch of gil on the table as I followed her out. As I passed Lilian, I waved and pointed back to the money in the middle of the mess. She scowled, and I smiled wider before leaving. Rather than try to work up a conversation with the princess, I chose to work some of my food off and run to the air cab. I caught the next one out and got it to myself, which was awesome. I stretched in the seat and watched the scenery pass by. It wasn't long before it slowed and stopped at the station and I headed over to the gate. Beatrix leaned against the far wall, waiting. "Hey there, gorgeous. You waiting long?" She smiled and looked up at me, "Not really. Where's the princess?" I waved back toward the cab, "She'll be on the next one. I actually wanted to talk to you alone."

That seemed to surprise her, but she straightened up and said, "Really? About what?"

"About how far you'll go with this."

"What do you mean?"

I tapped my head, "Think, B. We could find some way to loosen Cuja's hold on Alexandria, and we could hand Garnet the crown to save it from Brahne. But eventually the trouble will return a hundredfold. If we're going to truly help Alexandria, then it's necessary to root out the problem completely." She was quiet for a while, then said, "You mean destroying Cuja? Or invading Terra?" I shook my head, "There are only three Terrans left alive today. The rest of the planet is dead. Killing Cuja should be enough. But will you take it that far?"


End file.
